Sakura Falls
by Campino
Summary: A remade version of my hit fic about Sakura's dark tale and how the suductive world of drugs can turn even the most innocenent girl's life around. Read and disover Sakura's horrible fate. *COMPLETE*
1. ICHI

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Sakura Falls 

By: Sorano

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. It belongs to Clamp and Kodansha and all that. Nobody sue me because I'm not making any money off of this fic. 

Author's Note: This story will be darker than Card Captor Sakura usually is, so the characters might go OOC every now and then, but I'll try my best to keep them in character. 

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"Sakura-chan! It's time to get up!"

Sakura pushed the pillow over her head and scrunched her eyes shut, trying to block out the morning but the sun glared harshly and refused to let up.

"Sa_kur_a-chan!"

"I'm up!" she mumbled. She heard the door to her room open.

"Sakura-chan, you'll be late for school again and I don't have time to drive you this morning.."

"Otousan, I'm up." Her dad left and she poked her head out from under the pillow. _When did the sun become so rude? It hurts my eyes._

Sakura slowly sat up and rubbed the sleepy grit out of her eyes. A sleeping figure next to her woke up and yawned.

"Mornin' Sakura-chan. Isn't it a lovely day?"

"Hey, Kero-chan. Ara, only you could say that about a Monday morning." Sakura mumbled and yawned. 

Kero looked at the clock. "Don't you think you'd better hurry? You'll be late."

"Ano, maybe I won't go to school today." 

Kero looked at her oddly. "I thought you _liked _school, Sakura-chan." 

Sakura shrugged. "Sure, but it…Ara, it doesn't hurt to take little vacations every now and then. It keeps the mind fresh."

She stretched and pulled open her closet. Casting a longing eye upon rows of hot outfits she tore down her high school uniform and quickly dressed. She carefully rolled her skirt under her shirt to make it shorter before pulling up her long hair into a high ponytail upon her head. She had grown out her old style many years ago and now ropes of auburn swished down her back. The kids at school told her it made her look so much sexier and less like a little kid. All except for Syaoran. Syaoran was so odd lately.

"Ja Kero-chan! Have a nice day!" she called as she ran out of the room. "Sayonara, Sakura-chan …" Kero said slowly. Sakura had been acting strange lately. He shrugged it off as the fact she was fifteen, and went to flick on the Video Game console.

Sakura rushed by the kitchen, grabbed a bagel, and ran out the back door.

"Sakura-chan! Come back here!" 

Sakura trudged back inside, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Otousan? Nani?" 

"That's all your having? A bagel? Sit down and eat."

"Ara, I can't Otousan. I am going to be late and sensei locks late students outside. And if I have to get a late slip I will get a detention." 

Fujitaka wanted to insist, but he felt it was no use." Have a nice day, Sakura-chan." "

Sakura stood silent for a moment, searching her father's face. He looked so sad and so old. What had she done. "'touchan?"

"What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"Gomen nasai. Ittekimasu."

"Itterashai."

__

* * *

"Ohayo Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura skipped up to her raven-haired friend. Roller blades gathering dust in the garage, Sakura now walked to school like a normal person. She found roller blading took energy she just didn't have anymore.

"Ohayo gozaimasu. Did you have a nice weekend?" 

"Hai! Guess who I met at the mall?" 

Tomoyo smiled. "Ano, it must be Akira because he is the only name you utter as of late?"

Sakura blushed and giggled. "Yep! And guess what? He asked me out!"

Tomoyo's smile broadened. She loved to see Sakura so happy. "That's great, Sakura-chan. I told you he would. Demo, what about Li-kun?"

Sakura bit her lip and stared at the ground. "Ano, you know how it is. I'm not his toy or anything. If he won't go out with me then I am free for other people."

"But I though you lo…" Tomoyo was cut off in mid sentence.

"What's great?" A deep voice asked. 

The two girls turned around to see Syaoran, hands in his pockets, threading his way through the mob to get to them.

"Ohayo, Li-kun. Amoyo-san asked Sakura-chan out."

Syaoran flinched as if he had been slapped. "Ara, that's all. I thought it was something important."

Sakura bristled. "Akira-kun is important! But you wouldn't know because you have been depended on me your whole life!" She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth, but the venom still flowed through her and she ignored the boy's hurt expression.

"Demo, I-" 

Sakura snickered. "Ara, I forgot about Mei-ling-chan. Does that count?" she asked Tomoyo. 

Tomoyo shook her head. "I don't think so. Sakura-chan, maybe we should go in now. We can't be late." 

Syaoran's powerful amber eyes bored right into the two girls, giving them a reproable look and then he stomped away. When Syaoran had first returned from China Sakura had been her usual cheerful self. It hadn't notice her change over the past years but it seemed suddenly she was a whole new person. She seemed to have forgotten that _she _was supposed to be his girlfriend. _What happened to her? She used to be so nice and cheerful and happy. _The confused boy continued on his way to school, trying to clear his mind of his friend.

Once the boy was out of sight, Sakura slunk to the ground wearily. "It's funny how verbal battles can take so much out of you, ne? Ara, I really don't feel like school today. I wouldn't be able to concentrate. We might as well take advantage of that sale in the mall." 

Tomoyo twisted a long lock of ebony hair around her long index finger, one of her nervous habits. She hated when Sakura got like this. Tomoyo loved Sakura and would follow her to the ends of the earth, but she didn't want to encourage her to do what was wrong. She was supposed to be the mature one, the adult. She had to take care of Sakura, but wouldn't a day off be fun?

Sakura tapped her feet impatiently. "We don't have a lot of time. Now lets go before someone sees us!" She grabbed Tomoyo's hand within her own and yanked her off the main sidewalk.

* * *

"Tomoyo-chan! You just have to see this dress! Its incrediable!" Sakura held out a silky low-cut blue dress in front of her body, admiring her reflection on the changeroom mirror. "What do you think? This is the sort of clothing you should learn to make, Tomoyo-chan."

Tomoyo shook her head. "It's a pretty dress Sakura, but blue isn't really your color. I think you should get pink or green." 

"Nani? Masaka! Pink is for children. I want a colour that makes me feel more grown-up." 

"Sakura-chan…"Tomoyo said, thoughtfully. "Why are you trying so hard to be different?" 

"Hmmm? I have no idea what you mean, Tomoyo-chan."

"Hai, you do. You're the complete opposite from when you were younger. Its almost like you are doing it on purpose." 

Sakura glared at her. "No shit. I _grew up._ I must have left you behind in the fifth grade." 

Tomoyo looked hurt. "Sakura-chan…I was just trying to be a good friend."

"Ara, Tomoyo-chan! Gomen nasai! I don't know why I was being so mean!" Sakura gingerly wrapped her arms around Tomoyo as gave a gentle squeze, as if she was afraid she might break her.

"Ara, Tomoyo-chan. This dress would be perfect for you. It will go so well with your slim figure." 

Tomoyo pulled the dress off the rack and examined it closely, running her fingers over the soft material. It was a cream colored dress that went down to her ankles. It was simple, but beautiful. 

" Sakura looked at the price tag. "Um, Tomoyo-chan? It's _really _expensive. Are you sure you can afford it?" 

Tomoyo laughed. "Sakura-chan! I can afford five of these dresses! Okaasan gave me her credit card so I can spend as much as I want."

Sakura looked at the dress wistfully. "I which I was as rich as you, Tomoyo-chan." 

"You are already ten times richer than I am," her friend objected. "You have everything you need and more. A person's gold is counted by those that love them."

* * *

The two teens went into Claires to look for accessories after Sakura has purchased a new mini dress. 

"I bet your hair would like great in this, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo showed a big yellow ribbon to her friend. 

Sakura wrinkled her nose in great exatgerration, causing her friend to laugh. "Ughh, that tacky thing? I outgrew 'cute', remember?" 

Tomoyo sighed and went back to rummaging through the many shelves of ribbons and hairbands. 

"Ano, look at this," Sakura pointed out a small bottle of lipgloss. 

"Hai? You have lots of lipgloss, Sakura-chan. What's so special about that one?" 

"It's _mood _lipgloss. It changes colors with your emotions." 

Tomoyo sighed, unable to accept her friend's naievity. "Iie, it dosen't, Sakura-chan. The chemicals in it react to temperature. Its just another phony scam to rob people like you of their money."

"I don't care," Sakura said. "I like it and I want it." She picked up the bottle nonchantly and with a nervous glance around the room she slipped it into her purse.

"Sakura-chan!" Her friend hissed. "What are you _doing?"_

Sakura smiled at her. "Shopping. What's it look like?" 

"Shoplifting. That's what it looks like, Sakura-chan. I can't believe you. Its only 100 Yen. If you want it then lets go pay, okay?"

"One little cosmetic isn't going to hurt a big store like this. Its no big deal. I promise. But we had better go now." Sakura's bright green eyes darted about the room nervously and she didn't look as confident as she sounded.

The two girls walked at a casual pace down the asiles and Tomoyo found her hand reaching out to a beautiful shimmering necklace. The gems were flashing in her eyes and just screaming, take me! So Tomoyo, with a cheerful nod from her friend, wormed her hand deep into her pocket, concealing the prized treasure.

When they left and were walking down the hallway. Tomoyo let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She was so relieved that hadn't been caught. But nobody had even give them a second glance as they'd left. Every hair on her body stood on end as she waited for some wailing tattletale alarm to go off. But none came. She had to agree with Sakura. The rush you got from getting away with it made it all worth it.

"There, Tomoyo-chan! Wasn't that fun?" Sakura said. 

Tomoyo shrugged and sped up her pace, wanting to get as far away from the store as possible. She had never felt so odd before in her life. What was this feeling? The same one as when she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Undescriable, unwanted guilt. " I guess. I can't believe I'm stealing though. I can't believe my Sakura-chan is stealing." 

Sakura quickened her pace to match Tomoyo's. "So…where to next?" 

"Are you hungry? I could really go for an ice cream after all that."

"Ano, Baskin Robbins is right down here."

"That's far enough girls."

The two girls looked at each other in horror. Slowly they turned around to see a seacurity officer glaring at them. 

"Ohayo," Sakura said meekly. "What's up?" 

"Would you like to come with me and find out 'what's up'? 

"Run!" Sakura hissed into her friend's ear.

"Hey! Come back here!" 

"He'll never be able to catch us," Sakura said. 

"That guy has made one to many trips to Dunkin' Donuts." They giggled and continued to zip through the crowds. People stared at them oddly as they shoved past them. 

The cop took out his walkie talkie and spoke into it. "Shoplifters. Two teenage girls. One long black hair, the other long brown hair. Running at breakneck sped. Heading towards Walmart." The cop grinned. "We'll get them. Just block all the exits."

Sakura and Tomoyo eventually got cramps and had to stop. "Where do we go, Sakura-chan? They'll be looking for us. We have to leave." 

They decided to speed walk, instead of run, so they'd look less supcious. They peered around a cornor at the exit. "I don't see any cops," Tomoyo said. "It seems safe." 

"Right." They increased their speed and took off towards the exit, ignoring the looks other patrons gave them. 

__

Almost, almost… They were about to go through the doors to safety. And then two strong pairs of arms grabbed them and pushed them against the wall. "Gotcha!" The two terrified teens looked to see another cop. This time it was a woman, and she was in a lot better shape than the first one.

'Now you two come with me," she said. Tomoyo and Sakura realised it was futile to try and escape the law. So they followed the officer down the hall to a room they'd never seen before. _Securiety. _It was a small room, with only one video camera, a phone, computer, and a desk which was cluttered with papers.

"Sit down," she said and motioned to some chairs. 

Tomoyo and Sakura eyed the cop nervously. "What are you going to do?" Tomoyo asked, yanking hard on her hair. 

The cop sighed. "First I'm going to call your parents, then we'll all have a little talk. Unless you feel like pleading innocent in which case we'll be hear all afternoon."

Sakura and Tomoyo looked at each other, then slowly shook their heads no. 

"Alright then. What's your name and number miss?" she asked Sakura. 

"Sakura Kinomoto" Sakura replied. "737-1111." When the officer turned her back to write down the number, Sakura stuck out her tounge. Tomoyo rolled her eyes at her friend's childishness.

"And you?" The cop asked Tomoyo. 

"Tomoyo Daidouji. 459-4686." 

"Arigato. Now you two girls sit tight while I call your parents."


	2. NI

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Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to Clamp and Kodansha. The End.

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It was the longest two hours of their lives. The two girls had nothing to do but stare at each other in silence. Sakura had never before relalized how fascinating her nails were. She looked at the cop's plain white nametag._ Michizu. _Michizu looked more like a kindergarten teacher than a police officer. She had curly brown hair, big brown eyes, and a nice, pleasant face. 

"So," Michizu broke the silence. "Bring out your loot." 

Tomoyo didn't know what she what was talking about for a minute, then saw Sakura empty her purse and pockets, and followed suit. The necklace and lipgloss looked lonely and forlorn sitting by themselves on that big table. The didn't seem the prized items that glittered only hours before.

Michizu smiled, and she looked quite pretty when she smiled, not fierce like she did before. "I've checked on your records," she said. "This is your first time in trouble, Tomoyo?" The girl nodded. "And Sakura, you aren't too bad. Though you are listed as having vandalized your school? Graffiti." 

Sakura protested to this. "I wouldn't say vandalism. It was a work of art. Sensei told me to use my gifts were they could be admired."

"Indeed. Well, I don't think that's the way your school saw it. Now, you have returned the items, and have no record, so I can let you off fairly easy this time." Both girls breathed sighs of relief. "You do understand though, that shoplifting is a serious offense and we don't take it lightly here, not even from children."

"I'm not a child!" Sakura huffed. 

Michizu grinned. "Wouldn't you rather be tried as a child though?" 

Sakura had to agree to this. Her sixteenth birthday was in few weeks, and after that she wouldn't be getting off free anymore.

Just then the door opened and Fujitaka and one of those creepy ladies that work for Sonomi came in.

"Sakura-chan," Fujitaka said softly, and calmly. He did not yell but the look in his eyes made Sakura feel awful. She hated disapointing her father.

The creepy lady calmly looked from the cop to Tomoyo. "Daidouji-san will be coming with me," she said, handing an envelope to the cop. "Her mother hopes this money will be enough and she apologizes for any trouble miss has caused."

"Now wait a minute," Michizu interjected. "She still has to make up for-" but the creepy lady and Tomoyo were already out the door.

"Those ladies were creep me out," Sakura said. Fujitaka gave her a withering glance and Sakura slouched down into her seat.

"So…whatcha gonna do with me, um, _Michizu_?" 

The cop smiled thinly. "I'll have to send your case to a judge and he'll decided your sentence." Sakura didn't like that word. _Sentence._ It made her sound like a criminal.

"I can tell you you'll probably have to pay a fee. And if you're lucky, community service." 

"What's so lucky about community service? It's a waste of time if you ask me." 

Michizu grinned. "I was comparing it to jail." 

Sakura gulped. "Ara."

"May we leave now?" 

"I think someone should talk to your daughter, Kinomoto-san. Teenagers tend to have ulterior reasons behind shoplifting. I'm sure the judge will refer her to a pyscologist or help group." 

"Of course. Have them call me when the decision is made. I'm terribly sorry for the trouble my daughter has caused. Now Sakura and me have to talk. Sayonara."

Never in her life had Sakura been afraid of her father. He was always so gentle and forgiving but now she did not think it was kind words that were threatening to spill out of his tight mouth. She did not want to leave the small room for fear of him. He held the door open for her and they walked in silence to the car which was unfortunately parked at the far end of the lot.

Fujitaka started up the engine but did not drive away. He sat there staring straight ahead in silence. 

Sakura braced herself, knowing what was coming. 

"Sakura-chan…" Sakura wanted so see smoke coming out of her father's ear, see him turn red or something but there was nothing. The whole time she just wanted to cry. She wanted to tell her father she was still his girl, still a good girl. She could only imagine what she looked like in his eyes now.

"I don't know what I did wrong, Sakura-chan. I thought you… Sakura-chan, why? Why did you have to do something so stupid? I always thought- Iie, I know you are smarter than that. "

Sakura winced and avoided his gaze in the front mirror. "'touchan…"

" You know I hate to do this, but I have no choice. You're grounded. No phone, no parties, you come straight home from school. You can't go anywhere, you hear me? Obviously you aren't responsible enough to go anywhere. And you'll be paying me back for the money. And…and I want you to apologize to the store in person."

Fujitaka stopped for a moment, trying to think of something that would really shake some sense into her. Get her to listen. "And," he added quietly. "You may not go on your class trip to America." 

Sakura was outraged. "Otousan! That's not fair! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! You can't do this to me!"

"You did it to yourself, Sakura. Nobody forced you to steal." 

"I hate you!" Sakura shouted, absolutely miserable. On the verge of tears her emotion warped themselves into something awful. "Fuck you, asshole!" 

Fujitaka turned around slowly, white with rage and eyes wide with disbelief. "What did you say?" 

"You heard me!" Sakura shouted, furious, yet salty tears were running down burning cheeks.

Fujitaka started driving, going a little faster than he should. "Watch your language, Sakura. I will not have you speak to your father that way." 

Sakura just glared out the window and they drove home in silence.

When they drove into the garage, Sakura jumped out and ran up to her room. She threw herself upon her bed and angrily wiped the wet away. 

"Sakura-chan?" A small voice asked from beside the TV. 

"Nani?" she muttered. 

"Daijoubu?"

The small yellow guardian flew up and sat beside her. 

"No. I just did something horrible, Kero-chan. I am in so much trouble. Do you think I'm a bad girl, Kero-chan?" 

"What makes you ask that?" 

"Otousan said I can't go on the trip to America. I told him I hated him. I shouldn't have said that. I don't hate Otousan." She gave the pillow a hard punch. 

"What did you do, Sakura-chan?" 

"Nothing much."

"Yup." 

"I don't feel like talking right now." Sakura said and turned away from her little friend. 

Kero was confused for a minute. "You must have done something really bad." 

She looked at the clock. Two p.m. A long time left to go until she could at least go to school and talkwith her friends. She was longing to find out what happened to Tomoyo and see if she was feeling as bad as she was. Sakura was feeling a little guilty for getting her friend into the mess and making her do bad things.

Kero watched Sakura stretch out on her bed and curl herself into a tight ball before she closed her eyes. One thought ran through his mind- _What had happened to his cute little card captor?_

! 


	3. SAN

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Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter 3:

Disclaimer: CCS doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Clamp and Kodansha and maybe some other people. Don't sue. Please.

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Sakura was so happy to be away from her house and on the way to school that she was litteraly bouncing. She had not spoken a word with her father since the mall incident except for a short, "Ittekimasu" and his "Itterashai".

"Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said opening her locker. 

"I hope you didn't get into too much trouble." Tomoyo said. "You don't look very good." 

Sakura grabbed her books and slammed the locker shut. "Otousan is really mad at me. I think I hurt his feelings. I…I think I hurt 'kaachan, too."

Tomoyo's eyes widened in surprise. "Nani? How?"

"I don't know. I heard things all night." Sakura shuddered. "I dreamt and Okaasan was crying."

"So what's going to happen to you?"

"I'm grounded indefinitly and I… Ara, Tomoyo-chan. I can't go with everyone to America in May."

Tomoyo flung her arms around Sakura. "That's too bad, Sakura-chan. It won't be the same without you."

Sakura shrugged. "It's no…big deal." 

"How can you say that? You've always wanted to go to America." 

"Sakura-chan can't go to America?" Yamazaki suddenly appeared between them, with Chiharu close behind. 

"Sakura got in trouble and now she can't go on the trip," Tomoyo explained to them. 

"Shinji nai! That's not fair!" 

"Poor Sakura-chan," Chiharu added 

* * * 

In Geography Sakura doodled as she was bored to tears. The class was even worse than usual today because they were comparing America to Japan. Sakura had lied to Tomoyo. She _desperately _wanted to go on that trip.

Sure her friends had been sympathetic, but not everyone. Several of her classmates couldn't resist rubbing it in. And when word got around that she and Tomoyo had been caught shoplifting, everyone had been really nasty to them. Sakura had expected them to be respected for it. After all, everyone did it. And Sakura was, _had been_, the most popular girl in her school.

It's amazing how quickly people can turn. So you can imagine by fifth period geography, Sakura wasn't in a great mood. _When had things gotten so bad? She used to be so happy. Was it when Touya and Yukito had gone off to college? When Syaoran had come back from Hong Kong? When her father had got fired? Or when she'd been rejected for the high school cheerleading squad because she wasn't thin enough? She'd started dieting and smoking. Things turned for the worst then. When she started high school._

Sakura felt a hard tap on her back. She turned around and the boy behind her passed her a small folded paper. She smiled in thanks, and unfolded it on her lap, careful so the teacher wouldn't see. When Ueda-sensei caught you passing, reading, or writing notes, she tended to not only give detentions, but also read the note outloud to the class. And she picked apart everything that was written. The students had their suspicions that catching notes were the highlights of her pathetic life.

Sakura- I heard you aren't coming on the trip. That is too bad, it won't be any fun without you. I'm not not sure what's happened between us, but I don't like. We're friends, right? More than friends? Wanna sit together at lunch? Write Back. –Syaoran Sakura smiled. She hadn't been very nice to Syaoran lately. She had waited three years for him to come back to Japan, and when he did, she dumped him. He seemed to square for her all of a sudden. What had I been thinking? Syaoran? I love Syaoran! No, I don't. But I really, really like him. Sakura scribbled a note to him, apologizing for the way she'd been treating him lately, and saying that she'd talk to him at lunch. She passed it back and spent the rest of the period willing the clock to move faster. * * * When lunch finally came, Sakura didn't bother stopping at her locker to chat with her friends and headed straight to the cafeteria. She couldn't find Syaoran anywhere, so she sat down at an empty seat. It felt odd sitting alone. She realized the world looked different when you aren't surronded by friends. Five minutes passed and Syaoran didn't show up. Sakura was a little worried. Why wasn't he coming? Sakura was about to get up and find her friends when the boy flopped down in the seat opposite her, panting. "Osoku natte, Sakura-chan. Sensei made me stay late." Sakura smiled cheerfully. "That's okay." Syaoran pulled the contents of his lunch out a brown paper bag. He had a pb&j sandwich, a juicebox, and two oatmeal cookies. Sakura stared at the meal in horror. Syaoran was the only tenth grader she knew who still brought his lunch from home. Normally she bought her lunch, but today she didn't really feel like eating all that fatty, high-calorie junk. "You don't have a lunch, Sakura-chan?" Sakura shook her head sending swirls of gold flying around her shoulders "I brought money. But I'm not really hungry." "Do you want one of my cookies?" He offered her one of his homemade cookies. "No thanks." It was sweet of him to offer. She could remember the day when Syaoran would rather take something from her than give. Syaoran took a bite of his sandwich, chewing it thoughtfully. "Were you really shoplifting, Sakura-chan?" Sakura nodded. "Hai. It's too bad we go caught on Tomoyo-chan's first time." "Why did you do it? That wasn't too bright, Sakura-chan." "I… Come, on, Syaoran-kun. Let's talk about something else, okay?" Syaoran shook his head, almost sadly. "What happened to you, Sakura-chan?" Sakura was getting defensive now. "Nothing happened to me. It's not like I robbed a bank or anything. Drop it or I'll find someone else to share my time with." She got up to leave, but Syaoran caught her arm and pulled her back down. "I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt." Sakura smiled. "Hey, do you wanna catch a movie tonight?" "I thought you were grounded." "Ara, I forgot. But its just one movie. Otousan won't know." "Okay, then. Ten?" Sakura nodded. She pulled a cardboard box from her purse and drew out a short white stick. "Want a smoke?" Syaoran was tempted to give in, but his morals and good upbringing won out. "No thanks." Sakura shrugged and lit her cigarette. 

"Is this how you can go days without eating, Sakura-Chan?" 

Sakura winked at him. "It cuts down on my appetite yes. But to tell you the truth, I can't live without it. Niichan always warned me I would get hooked. Don't ever try it, Syaoran-kun." 

Syaoran wrinkled his nose. "Masaka." 

While she smoked, Syaoran pondered his girlfriend's new behavior. He would give anything to have his old, sweet Sakura back, but at the same time found this new Sakura strangely enticing. Sexy almost. The continued to talk for the rest of lunch, well, Sakura smoked, Syaoran did most of the talking.

* * * _     9:45 p.m., preparing for the great escape-
_     Kero watched in mild interest as Sakura puttered about her room. She summoned the mirror card because it had worked so well before and was happy to help her out. Her clone climbed into bed and winked at Sakura.
_ Now…how to get out? _She couldn't go out the front door, for very obvious reasons. And her window was too high up to jump. "Kero, help!" She turned to the guardian beast. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should I?" "Does the words 'fudge brownies' mean anything to you?" "Fudge! Yummy!" Kero succumbed instantly. "Use the fly card, Sakura-chan!" Sakura snapped her fingers. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" "Are you sure you want that question answered?" Kero asked her and was replied with a deathly glare. "Arigatou, Kero-chan! You're the best!" She gave Kero a little hug, then called out the fly card. Big beautiful white wings sprouted through the fabric of her dress and Sakura was able to fly. "Turn out the lights for me, okay Kero-chan?" And with that she was gone. 


	4. SHI

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Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to Clamp and Kodansha. Nobody sue. Please.

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Sakura twirled and loop-de-looped through the twinkling night sky, enjoying the freedom flying brought her. Up in the sky she could find a peaceful quiet and beauty that was missing from ordinary life. It had been much too long since she had been flying- four whole years with her feet firmly on the ground. There were moments when she wished she could be still capturing cards and going off on all sorts of adventures. In comparison, life was incredibly dull now.

Her eyes wandered lazily over the view below her, searching for a spot to land. Being Friday night it would figure everybody was at the theater. There was no way she could get done without being seen.

Syaoran was waiting for her outside and happened to see her circling the sky, his keen eyes easily picking her out of the dark clouds. _Sakura, _he groaned. _Now you've done it. _It figured she'd fly. If she didn't get down soon they'd miss the movie.

Sakura had a sudden burst of inspiration and flew over the cinema. _I can land on the roof! _And she did just that. The building wasn't too far off the ground; she could just jump down from there. She was used to people giving her odd looks. 

When she jumped she twisted her ankle, but it didn't hurt too much. "Daijoubu?" Syaoran asked, as he jogged over to where she fell. 

"E, E, daijoubu," she muttered, pushing herself up in a great leap. She certainly appeared fine and with no less grace than a queen. 

"Flying Sakura-chan? What if someone saw you?" 

Sakura bit her lip. "I didn't think. But you know, it doesn't really matter all that much."

The two walked inside quickly because the movie was starting in a couple minutes and Sakura had firm belief that a movie was jinxed if they missed the previews. "Mmmm," Sakura savored the taste of popcorn in the air. "Don't you just love the smell of cinemas, Syaoran-kun?" 

Syaoran nodded. "I guess so."

They went up to buy their food at the over-priced concession stand.. Syaoran got a Coke and medium popcorn with tons of butter. After all, what's popcorn without butter? Its just dry corn. All Sakura got was a diet Pepsi. 

"That's it, Sakura-chan?" Syaoran asked as he dug into his jeans for his wallet. 

"Hai." 

"But you just said you wanted popcorn." 

"Yeah, but do you know how many calories are in that stuff? Over _a thousand._ Think about it. Do you want a fat girlfriend?" 

She smiled at him. "I have to lose a ton of weight if I want to make the cheerleading squad next year." 

Syaoran didn't return the smile. His beautiful amber eyes were dead serious as he replied, " I think you look great, Sakura-chan." 

Sakura kissed him on the cheek. "You're so sweet. Let's go in. The movie's about to start."

Syaoran let Sakura pull him into the cinema. He was worried about her._ Girls…_ But now she seemed her old, cheerful self. Nothing to worry about. He decided to forget about it. Sakura could take care of herself. 

Sakura led him to the back of the theater, top row middle aisle. He'd wanted to see this movie for a long time, but obviously Sakura had other things in mind. 

* * *

After the movie, Sakura decided to take the bus home with Syaoran. She didn't feel like flying home all by herself at night. "Wasn't that a wonderful movie, Syaoran-kun? So romantic…" Sakura asked him starry eyed while they waited for the bus. 

Syaoran turned slightly pink. "Medetashi." 

Sakura giggled. _He's ten times cuter when he's embarrassed. Kawaii!_

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura turned around slightly and peered into the darkness. A figure stepped out of the shadows and Sakura recognized the speaker vaguely from her ninth grade math class. Sakura thought she might know the girl a little better if she had actually shown up for math more than twice a month. 

"Hi. You're…um, gomen, what was your name again?" Sakura fumbled for a name for the girl. 

"Miyuki Nakano." The girl smiled at her and winked at Syaoran in greeting. "The buses are always so fucking slow, ne?" she complained, pulling out a cigarette. "I'm late. Seiji is going to kill me." She offered a cigarette to Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura gratefully accepted, but Syaoran politely declined. Miyuko gave him a weird look, but didn't say anything.

The three stood in silence for a few minutes before Miyuko spoke again. "You know, Sakura-chan, I heard about what you did yesterday." Sakura looked up in surprise. "Pretty cool. Pathetic to get caught though." She took a long drag of her cigarette and grinned at Sakura evilly. "I could give you some pointers."

This came as a surprise. Her group had never been friend's with Miyuko's. Both were fairly popular but Sakura's clique was thought of to be 'golden-goodies' and Miyuko was kind of a junkie, always in trouble with the police and she rarely came to school. And she was a cheerleader. Miyuko had been sure to rub it in when Sakura was rejected from the squad. Sakura had always considered her a snob.

Sakura was never one to hold and a grudge though and she smiled cheerfully. She wouldn't turn down an opppertunity to make new friends. "Sure. This Saturday?" 

Miyuko flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder and smirked. "I'm busy on Saturday. I'll call you, k?" 

Sakura nodded eagerly. Just wait until she told Chiharu that she would be hanging out with the queen of the school, Miyuki Nakano. Miyuki was popular, rich and beautiful. She was also a senior. All the girls had wanted to be just like her. She was sort of an idol.

When the bus screeched by their corner Miyuko got on with them. Syaoran was steaming inside. He wanted to spend the night _alone _with Sakura. _Where's Miyuko's groupies when you need them? _They sat on the back of the bus on the tall leathery seats. Tiny little Sakura had to have Syaoran boost her up, which made Miyuko giggle. There was something rather disturbing in how she found the two of them so amusing.

"Hey!" The fat driver yelled back at them. "Can't you kids read? It says 'no smoking'. Put those out or get off the bus!" The two girls reluctantly complied, muttering about old squares. Syaoran, personally, was glad they'd stopped. He didn't think his lungs could take much more. _How could they possibly stand it?_

Now that they were on the bus, Miyuko brought up the topic she'd originally started talking to Sakura for. "Hey, Sakura-chan…I'm having a _huge _party next Friday. Seeing as you've become more socially _acceptable_," Sakura flinched at this. _Hadn't she always been popular? _"We want you to come. Hanako-san, the squad captain, is looking for a new member since Amina-chan moved." She went on to mutter something inaudiable under her breath about traitoring whores.

"Shinji nai! Me? Ara, are you lying to me, Miyuki-chan?"

"Now Sakura-chan, would I do that? Hanako-san thinks rejecting you might have been a big mistake and you'd be perfect. After all, Sakura, you're one of us." Giving Syaoran an annoyed look, she leaned closer and whispered in Sakura's ear, "Satoshi really wants you to come. He thinks you're cute." 

"Really?!" 

The two girls talked and giggled for a five more minutes, though it seemed like hours to Syaoran. Miyuko abrubtly turned cold and yanked on the rubber cord that hung above her head. "This is my stop. I…I'm late."

Syaoran was happy to see her go. But how could she know where they were? She hadn't looked out the window once and she'd been too busy talking to Sakura to count the stops. 

"Isn't Miyuko so cool?" Sakura gushed, her eyes bright. 

"Hai, cool…" he frowned and the smile vanished from Sakura's face.

"Ara, gomen nasai, Syaoran-kun! I didn't mean to ignore you!" She reached over to hug him and buried her face into his warm sweater. Syaoran found he couldn't stay mad at her for long and melted into her bewitched embrace. He found himself making excuses for her and they spent two more hours riding the bus around the city as they chatted about everything from the colour of their Chem. Class to Chinese politics. 


	5. GO

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to Clamp and Kodansha. Don't sue.

A/N: I'm sure most of you know, but for those who don't: kanojo-chan=sweetheart and musume=daughter. Aishiteru- I love you.

***************************************************************************************************************     Sakura's eyelids were dragging when she heaved herself through her second story window. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed and sleep till noon. Of course, she wasn't so lucky. She knew something was up before she even got inside because her bedroom lights were on. Maybe Kero had forgotten to turn them out like she asked, but the pounding in her heart told her that wasn't it.
"Ara, Shit!" Fujitaka sat patiently on her yellow mattress waiting for her. The Mirror Card was gone. Sakura was terrified but she wanted to go give her father a big hug. Tell him that everything was all right and that she was safe. Did he worry about her? Up until now she hadn't really considered how much pain she must have caused him. How she'd been treating him. Didn't he deserve more than that? Her wings disintegrated and she landed with a hard thud on her bedroom floor. She though she saw Kero, who was flopped at an odd angle against the cupboard, giving her an evil eye, but it could've been her imagination. She and Fujitaka stared at each other for a few moments warily. Neither knew what to expect from each other these days and they didn't want to say something they would regret. "Sakura-chan…" he sighed. "What am I going to do with you? I lost your mother years ago, Touya's gone off to college, and now you…What's happening to you, Sakura-chan? I don't want to lose my little Sakura-chan also."     Sakura noticed the object he had been fingering in his hands and tears welled up behind her eyes. It was a ten-year-old Sakura with her arms wrapped tight around her father. He was holding her up in the photo, supporting her in strong arms.
"'touchan…Gomen, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say."     
"I do. Tell me what is happening to you. Who's doing this to you, Sakura-chan? Tell me and I will go and hurt them so bad. Demo, don't you dare tell me it was you Sakura-chan because I won't believe it. Tell me you are still in there somewhere and you'll come back to me someday."     
Sakura wanted to laugh, wanted to cry. "For goodness sake, I went to a movie!" _But that's not what he thinks, Sakura. You could've been anywhere. You couldn't have been in someone else's arms but Syaoran's._ She hesitantly stepped forward, baby steps, until she stood in front of her father. Then she collapsed into him, tears running freely down her cheeks. "You're a good girl, Sakura-chan," Mr. Kinomoto said. "Innocent. Don't let anyone take that away from you. Its precious." Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. "I just wanted to have some fun. I don't want to be bad." Fujitaka frowned. "I know. I just don't want to see you throw your life away. Be so very care, musume. Not everyone out there cares about you." With a gentle finger Fujitaka smoothed away her tears and whispered, "I'll tell you what, kanojo-chan. I'll let you go to America after all, _if _there's no more trouble and no more sneaking out. Okay?" Sakura smiled at him. "I can do that." Fujitaka glanced to the clock. "You must be tired. Get some sleep now." Sakura nodded and kissed his cheek. "Aishiteru, 'touchan." "Aishiteru mo, Sakura-chan." She crawled into bed and her father left, flicking off the lights. A gentle smile crossed Fujitaka's as he walked down the hall. _That's my girl still. She's going to be all right. _Once he had left, Sakura sat up and Kero stretched. "Sheesh, Sakura-chan! You took long enough! I've been stuck in that position for two hours. He was really worried about you, you know. He just sat there, waiting for you to come home." "Hai …" "Did you really mean all that, Sakura-chan? It was so corny." Sakura looked startled. "It wasn't a show, Kero-chan. I meant it. I hate fighting with Otousan." "You wouldn't know it, the way you two carry on." "It's hard sometimes, Kero-chan. But he looked so sad tonight." Kero nodded, knowing what she meant. "Are you really going to stay home for two months? Can you survive that?" Sakura nodded. "Hai, I don't have much choice if I want to go to America. I really do want to go." "So do I. If you can't go, neither can I." "Sure it will suck but I have to prove to Otousan he can trust me again." "It's late, Sakura. You should go to sleep." "You're right. Oyasumi nasai, Kero-chan." "'Night Sakura-chan." Sakura had been asleep for all of ten minutes when she suddenly bolted upright. "Damn!" "What's wrong?" Kero asked, crossly. "Miyuko invited me to her party next Friday night." "Ano, you'll have to skip it." "I _can't_! This is super important! I might get on the cheerleading squad! And Satoshi will be there…Everyone will think I'm a total geek if I don't show up!" * * * Sakura stood in front of the cafeteria, tray in hand, looking for her friends. She had decided to have lunch today. Unlike her peers who had pop and fries, she only had a small Caesar salad. _Where's Tomoyo? _Her friends weren't sitting in their usual table. "Hey Sakura-chan! Come sit with us!" Miyuko stood on a plastic chair and was waving madly. Sakura wasn't sure how much she wanted to eat lunch with Miyuko's crowd, but it wouldn't look good to refuse and besides, her friends weren't around. She sat down to Miyuko and glanced around the table. Even if they were socs, they definitely weren't they kind of people Sakura normally associated with. "Hey, Miyuko, who's the chick?" Sakura looked at the speaker in disgust. He had long, greasy hair and it seemed there wasn't an inch of his body that wasn't either pierced or tattooed. "This is Sakura Kinomoto," Miyuko said as she guzzled down a soda. "She's cool. _Be nice to her._" All the girls smiled sweetly at Sakura and introduced themselves. The boys didn't really say much, they talked among themselves. But every now and then they'd glance up at Sakura and giggle. This was making her extremely uncomfortable, especially as they sized up her breasts. "You know, Sakura-chan," one of the girls, Admie spoke up. "You really you should get your ears pierced." "Nani?" Sakura yelped, touching her earlobes as if she expected a needle to fly out of nowhere. "I like my ears the way they are, thanks." "Come on, Sakura-chan. It's just a suggestion. I just meant Satoshi might like you better if you had pierced ears." "That's just stupid," Sakura replied. "How could that make any difference?" "You'll see. Why don't you come over to my house this afternoon and I'll do them for you. Free." "I don't know…" But the subject had already been changed and now the girls were talking about a concert that was taking place soon. Nobody seemed to be interested in Sakura anymore and she felt rather left out. With her friends she was always the center of attention. She nibbled on her salad, but she wasn't very hungry. Somebody sat in front of her and she felt the disturbing feeling of being stared at. She looked up slowly and gazed into a beautiful pair of blue-green eyes. Syaoran's eyes were rocks compared to these. "Satoshi-kun?" The boy nodded. "Konnichiwa. Are you coming to Miyuko-chan's party?" "Umm, uh-huh." She nodded. "I'm glad." _He has beautiful hair…Blond, so soft and wavy…_ "I'm looking forward to dancing with you, Sakura-Chan." "_Chan_?" "You don't mind if I call you that." It was not a question. Sakura blushed. "Iie, I don't mind." "Did you see that new movie? Hoshiaino?" Sakura nodded. "Yep! Me 'n' Syaoran-kun saw it last night." "What did you think?" "It was okay." "I take it you didn't see much." "Nope." Sakura and Satoshi continued to talk for the rest of lunch and Sakura found that she loved every minute of it. It felt like she'd never been able to talk so easily with anyone before. Satoshi was like no one she'd ever met before. He was so…deep. Like sure he was hot and all, but he actually had a great personality too. Sakura's regular crowd was eating at the far end of the cafeteria with one eye always on the couple and the other on their lime Jell-O. Tomoyo noticed the steam hissing out of Syaoran's ears and giggled. "Li-kun, don't worry about it. Sakura-chan's just talking to him, that's all." "Hmh." Tomoyo rolled her eyes at Eriol. "Somebody's jealous." "Sakura-chan should be allowed to talk to whoever she wants, Li-kun," Eriol pointed out wisely. "It's not like she'sc-" they saw Sakura peck Satoshi on the cheek before getting up and leaving. "Uh, never mind." * * * "Syaoran-kun?" Sakura stood in front of her mirror in her locker at the end of the day. "Do you think I'm pretty?" "Sure," he answered automatically; thankful she hadn't asked him whether she was fat. "No, really. Am I _pretty_?" "I just told you, Sakura-chan. I think you're the most beautiful girl in the school. I thought you were cute since the day I first saw you and now I have to fight to keep you." Sakura smiled. _When had it become so easy to get a compliment out of Syaoran? _"Do you think I should get my ears pierced?" "I dunno. If you want to, I guess." Sakura sighed. "Admie says she'll pierce them for me. She says it will make me prettier." _Well, that's not exactly what she said, but… _"You should get it done by a professional, Sakura-chan." "I'm sure Admie can do a great job, Syoaron-kun. She's pierced all her own, all fifty of them." "I wouldn't trust her if I were you."     "It's alright."
"Just your ears, okay Sakura-chan? No more?" Sakura nodded. "Don't worry, Syaoran-kun. I won't turn punk on you." Sakura saw Admie waving at her from down the hall. "I've got to go, Syaoran-kun. I'll call you tonight. No wait, I can't. I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then." She kissed him, shut her locker and ran down the hall to meet her new friend. "Ja …" * * * "Relax, Sakura-chan. I've done this a million times! If you don't sit still, well, ever mind." Sakura sat on Admie's bed, in her very Goth room. "See, just hold this ice cube to your ear for a few minutes and I'll go get the needle." _Needle?_ If there was one thing Sakura did not like, it was needles. "Um, do you have to use a needle?" "Of course baka!" Admie laughed. "How else would I pierce it? Don't worry. It won't hurt." "Now, let's see. I just put the earring on this thread, and the thread through the needle." Sakura grimaced. It didn't sound like Admie really knew what she was talking about. Admie gave Sakura a _large _cotton swab. "Here, Sakura-chan. When I'm done, just put this on to stop any blood." _Blood? _"Okay…" Was it just Sakura's imagination, or did Admie sound nervous? Sakura felt the cold metal point rest against her ear. "Okay, it'll sting for a minute, k, Sakura-chan? Are you ready?" "Iie!" Sakura scrunched her eyes shut. Admie just laughed again and pulled the trigger. "Owwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!" * * * 


	6. ROKU

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to Clamp and Kodansha. 

Sakura was a lonely figure as she walked along in the dusk. Her hand was constantly going up her newly pierced earlobes and twisted the metal stud as Admie had told her to do. She was convinced nothing had hurt that much before in her life. It would serve her right if they got infected.

Yet, when Admie held a mirror up in front of her and she saw the gold studs gleaming against her ears, it was all worth it. Just wait until everyone saw these…

She suddenly stopped in the middle of the street, a car blaring loudly as it swerved to avoid her. _Otousan will see them! I can't hide them forever! _What was she going to do? Would the earrings be reason enough to prevent her from going on the trip? _I could say they're stick-on. Iie, Otousan isn't that stupid._

She sighed. _Maybe Tomoyo will have an idea. _She would call her helpful friend right away, she decided as she opened the screen door. The house was dark and quiet, making Sakura miss the days when Touya was there to bug her. She made her way over to the phone and checked for messages. As it was habit for her, she checked the phone to see if there were any new messages. There was one.

__

"Moshi moshi, Sakura-chan. It's Otousan, I'm calling from work. I'm going to be late tonight. Make yourself something to eat. Iie, not a TV dinner. Food. Remember our deal. Aishiteru, ja!"

Sakura grinned in relief. She had been bought some extra time to work things out. Her hand reached for the reciever but was interrupted by her stomach grumbling. She had never been a good cook. No TV dinners, ha! What else could she make? The microwave was the only thing she could operate.

"Hmmm, let's see what there is." She opened the fridge and peered inside. There wasn't much but a leftover casserole and a carton of orange juice. "Un, I guess Otousan forgot to get groceries again. He's been so busy lately. Maybe I should do some of the shopping for him." 

The pantry didn't bring much luck except for a can of lima beans and noodles, nor the cupboard nor the freezer in the basement. "We have no food in the whole entire house!" Sakura wailed melodramaticaly. 

"I guess I have no choice," Sakura said knowing what she was looking for all along and reached for the phone. She typed in a number which was almost as familiar as her own number. "Moshi moshi, I'd like a large vegetarian pizza, double cheese hold the artichokes, please." 

* * *

Sakura enjoyed her solitary meal and didn't feel an ounce of guilt. The salty fat gave her the boost of energy she seriously needed. The loud ringing disturbed the deathly silence and Sakura jumped in surprise. _Ano, it might be important. Otousan said I couldn't make calls, he never said any rules about answering them. _She quickly snatched it up. "Moshi moshi?"

"Ara, my darling kaijuu!" 

__

I should've let it ring. "Onnichan, konbanwa." 

"How are you?" 

"What do you care?" 

"I don't. I'm just being polite." 

Sakura laughed in relief. If everything through the world changed she could always count on her brother to be the same. "Ara, I'm fine." 

"Is Otousan home?" 

"Iie. He's working late again. Preparing for tomorrow's lecture I think." 

There was quiet on the other line for a moment, then Touya said, "You must be lonely, huh? Without us to torment you."

Sakura snorted. "Actually I'm enjoying every moment of my only-child self-indulgent solitude." 

"Don't you worry though, you won't be lonely for long!" 

"In one ear and out the other, what are you trying to get to, Oniichan?" 

"Me and Yukito-kun are coming down to visit this weekend." 

A farmilair racing started up again in Sakura's heart and she found the phone a little slippery."Yukito-san?" 

"C'mon, kaijuu. I know you miss me." 

"Sure."

Truth was, Sakura did miss her brother. Not that she'd ever admit it. Though she hated him picking on her, the house had been awfully empty since he left. And she certainly missed Yukito and Yue. She giggled, remembering the fight Yue put up when he was told he would be living across the country from his mistress.

"What's so funny?" 

"Nothing. Don't call me that anymore, okay, Touya? I'm not a kaijuu anymore." 

"Whatever you say, kaijuu. I bet your footsteps have just gotten louder. You're an even big kaijuu now. So…I've got to go. Yukito-kun and I are going out in a couple minutes. Tell Otousan I'm coming around the twenty-fifth, okay? Say hi to everyone for me." 

"Okay." Sakura found herself not wanting to let go of her brother. The brother who had always protected her. Had he somehow known and called when she was so lonely? 

"Ja mata, kaijuu."

Sakura hung up and felt more alone than ever. The house was so, so quiet. _Being grounded sucks…_She went back to eat her food, but it just didn't taste as good anymore. Cold pizza never suited her.When she done, she went to the freezer and pulled out a container of ice cream. It had been a very long time since she'd had ice cream.

She lost herself in the creamy chocolate world and didn't come out until the container was empty. She stared at it blankly for a few minutes, then groaned. "I ate _all _of that! That must be a million calories! I'm such a pig! They'll never let me on the cheerleading squad now! What will Sato- I mean, Syaoran think of me now?"

She wanted to cry. She felt so ashamed. _I hate myself! I'm all fat now! And my ears hurt! _She looked guiltily at the ice cream container, rinsed it out, and put it with the recycling. 

Sakura's ears were stinging so bad now that she thought she'd go insane. She ran up stairs and poured half the bottle of achohol on them. "Shit! It hurts!" She rotated the earrings as Admie had told her to but nothing seemed to help.

"Sakura-chan? Daijobu?" Kero fluttered into the bathroom. 

"Nothing, Kero-chan." 

"You got your ears pierced," he commented. 

"Really? I didn't notice." 

"They're nice. I like them, Sakura-chan. They make you look very sophisticated." 

Sakura smiled warmly at her little friend. "Arigatou. They'd better be nice because they hurt like hell."

* * *

Sakura waited up late on Thursday, way past midnight. Her eyes were glued to the television screen but she was just flicking channels. There was a curling game on and a documentary on snakes, but that was about it. She forced her eyes to stay open though that pillow looked so very nice. She wasn't quite sure why she was waiting up for Touya, why it was so important. Maybe she just didn't want him to think she was a baby for being in bed when he arrived. Or maybe she just didn't feel it was right for her brother to come to a dead house. Fujitaka was waiting for her brother too, but he was in the basement library working. 

At one am, Sakura heard the garage screech as it pulled itself open and the front door slammed. Sakura flicked off the T.V, casting the room into silent darkness and ran to the door to meet him. "Niichan!"she threw her arms around his tired figure.

Touya grinned and patted her head fondly. "Hey, Sakura-chan. Still a kaijuu I see. You run down those halls like an elephant."

"Kaijuu ne!" Sakura huffed and puffed. She hadn't quite reached her telephone pole goal yet and her brother had done nothing but grow since she last saw him.

"Iie," the smile vanished from Touya's face and he held her back from him, studying her quizically. "You certainly are not. My little sister is turning out to be-"

"Don't say it," Fujitaka said, coming up the basement stairs and flicking on the light. "She's still your imouto. Things are bad enough without your comments."

"What's missing here?" Sakura mused aloud, digging through her brother's things. "Onnichan, where's Yukito-san?" She pawed through his travel bag.

"Eeto, you certainly won't find him in there."

"Yukito-san! What did you do with him, Onnichan?"

"Relax! He's coming up tomorrow. There were so some… loose ends that had to be tied up back in Tokyo."

"Sakura-chan, carry Touya's bags up to his room please." 

"Why me?" 

"I'm sure Touya's tired after that long trip. Please don't argue." 

Sakura scowled at her father, then flung the bags over his shoulders and her made her way upstairs, complaining all the way.

She staggered back downstairs and flung herself on the couch dramatically. "Did they kick you out or something? I think you must have brought all you own back with you." Her brother and father sat down beside her and they talked there together all through the night.

* * *

"What the fuck do you mean that I can't wear this to school?!" Sakura wailed, waking her tired brother (and probably the whole neighbourhood). 

"Sakura-chan, I said not to use that language." 

"I don't see what's wrong with it. Ara, please! Everybody is wearing these!"

"I said no! I won't have my daughter walking around dressed like some hooker!"

"A hooker, touchan, really!"

Touya stumbled into the kitchen yawning. His eyes widened and he rubbed them thinking the grit was imparing his view. "What's…up, imouto?" 

Sakura glared at him. "Onnisama" she laid it on thick," tell Otousama that I can wear this to school." 

"Um, eeto, I don't think it's really you. It sort of sends out the wrong message."

"What's wrong with it?" Sakura twirled around, admiring her long tanned legs. This was the outfit she had bought with Tomoyo the day she was grounded. The black nylon miniskirt _just _covered her panties and the matchingbright pink tube top was skimpier than Baywatch bikinis. She clicked her five-inch heels against the wood floor impatiently.

The morning fog evaportated from Touya's mind and he said,"Chotto. Don't you wear a uniform to school?" 

Sakura nodded. "Usually. But it's a non-uniform day. We can wear regular clothes today." 

"That's not _regular_, young lady. Do you honestly think the administation would approve of that?"

"I don't give a damn what the 'administation' thinks."

"How come I never got a non-uniform day?" 

Mr. Kinomoto glared at his son. "How about you stay out of this, Touya?" 

Touya shrugged and turned away from the argument. He learned long ago it's best not to get involved with teenage girls in their little 'moods'. He overflowed his bowl with Lucky Charms, enjoying the break from cafeteria food. 

"Sakura-chan, you aren't not going out in public like that! I will not allow it!"

"I don't care what you'll 'allow', Otousan! It's an expression of my individuality!" 

"Eeto, it's an expression of something!" 

"Fuck you! This is what I'm wearing and you can't stop me!" Nobody noticed the tears brimming in Sakura's eyes and she marched out of the house, slamming the door in her father's stunned face. 

"I can't believe I said that."


	7. NANA

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong me. It belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha. 

A/N: As much as I love reviews, what do you all expect Syaoran to do? He's her boyfriend, not her keeper. She doesn't need him to save her, and even if she did, what could he do? This isn't a clow card, minna! Sorry, but I had to say that. ^_^

-note to everyone: if you want a free slushie, go to Quickie and buy the smallest size with only a twenty dollar bill. They never have enough change so you always get it free. Of course, a little flirting helps! Really, it's worked for me so many times. They never bother to charge you for such a small thing.

"Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!"

Sakura strutted up to her locker.

The girl beside her was silent, gaping at her. Sakura waved a hand over her face. "Hey, Tomoyo-chan! Moshi moshi?"

"I didn't know you were planning on where that to school," Tomoyo choked out when she got over her shock. "I mean, it looks good and all, it's just, wow. Ara, Sakura-chan! You really do look so cute!"

Sakura grinned. "Yeah? Not sexy?" 

"You want to look sexy?" Tomoyo couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ever since the seventh grade when Sakura had hit 'puberty' she was every boy's dream. Boys sat in math class working out every detail of her in bed. But sexy. Sakura didn't need to try to be sexy. She had a natural, beautiful charm. Tomoyo was jealous. Sakura didn't need a scandelous outfit to attract attention yet she did it anyway.

A group of boys made their way past the two girls and the hall echoed with catcalls. "Looking good, Sakura-chan!" Satoshi whistled at her. "I'll see you at the party tonight, ne?"

"Right!" Sakura waved at him.

"What party?" Tomoyo looked at Sakura quizzically.

"I can't believe you don't know! Miyuko's party tonight! You were invited, weren't you?"

"Iie, of course not. Miyuko throws really wild parties. They don't invite people they know won't get stoned with them. That's all they do you know- sit around, drink, sniff and count grains of sand. Personally I would want to go to a real party where people are actually more than half awake."

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Miyuko doesn't think you're cool. She thinks you're one of them."

"Miyuko is nice. We're friends. You can't say stuff like that about her when you've never even met her."

"She tried to fill my video camera up with Pepsi at the cafeteria and drink out of it. Face it, the girl is out of it."

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura balled her fists up angry, hurt at being talked down by her friend. Tomoyo was supposed to look up to her.

"I only care about you, Sakura-chan. I don't want them to hurt you."

Sakura turned away and left Tomoyo. She needed some noise.

* * *

The whole day was excruciatingly long. During her grounding she developed a craving for socialising. The wild music, the colours, the techno music, dancing, dancing, dancing! Ara, if only Syaoran would come! 

"Kinomoto-san!" A crabby old voice snapped her back into reality.

"Hai, Imidio-sensei?" 

"Would you kindly explain the equation to the class?" 

Sakura blinked. "What equation?"

"The one on the board, Kinomoto-san." 

"Hai! That one!" Sakura looked at all the squiggly shapes on the chalkboard. 

__

I think its algebra. Let's see…oh, never mind. "Okay! See X over there? And Y over there? And see Q, everybody? And don't forget about N!" The class not longer looked bored, confused, but not bored. "And X is in love with Y. And X is friends with Q for a long time, that's why their, what did you call it- hypo, hippo something?- is so long. And N is in love with X."

The teacher did not look amused. "And please explain the relationship of 10 degrees?" 

Sakura smiled. "That's easy! That's how many hours there are until the party!" She looked at little confused when the class burst out laughing. Well, except for Syaoran and Tomoyo who were rolling their eyes. She goggle-eyed her classmates. "What?"

"Kinomoto-san, I will not tolerate insolence! March yourself down to the principal's office right now!" Sakura stood up. The class knew what was coming next, Sakura would go into a rage and get into even more trouble. But no, she just put on a big grin and literally _marched _to the door.

"Right away, ma'am!" They could hear her stomping her feet down the hall. "Hup, one, two, three, hup, one, two, three!" The class giggled. They found Sakura amusing but she certainly wasn't the same girl they had grown up with. 

"She's going to get in so much trouble," they whispered to each other.

The teacher huffed and rapped her pointing stick on her desk. "Shut up! All of you! Now, Shizuko-san, please give us the answer to the equation that Kinomoto-san kindly explained."

* * *

Sakura headed in the opposite direction from the office. They would call her father and she would get in trouble. Of course, if she skipped… Sakura kicked at the wall angrily, wishing she could've kept her mouth shut. Would it have been so hard just to admit she didn't know the answer. She constantly felt the need pressing down on her to prove herself. She did not wish to be stupid. But that was what Sakura was. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"I want a Slushie," she announced and walked out of the building. There! She was free now! She was out of that stuffy place and could do whatever she wanted! She wasn't being bad, she was enjoying human rights to do as she pleased! "It's not like I'm learning anything in there."

She decided upon Cherry Coke, her flavour of the month. Her step grew light and soon she was skipping, enjoying the bright warm day. The mini-mall loomed up in front of her and Sakura did not pick up on the fact there were no cars parked anywhere. The white sign hung on the door was a brutle smash to her europhia. "Closed. How the hell can it be closed? Since we do stores close on a Friday? Everybody skips on Friday!"

She made her way over to the local park and slid down onto a wooden bench, knocking old butts aside and closing her eyes. The air grew chill and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself._ Isn't this where so many of my adventures took place? Haven't I been under and through and beneath that old Penguin slide so many times? They have cut down the tree I once used to travel through time. I know secrets about this park no one could ever guess. So many memories. Why couldn't things still be like that? _ Shouts of childish laugher forced her out of her nostalgia and she opened her eyes.

Two small children raced by, laughing and yelling. "Come back and play with me, Alex!" The little girl yelled. "And mommy said you had to share your candy with me!" 

Sakura had to smile. The little girl looked so much like her when she was that age. And the girl's brother looked like Touya. It was almost funny, the resemblance. 

Sakura watched the two children run around for awhile. Then they had sat down on the grass to eat this candy the boy had. A woman had walked up behind them and wrapped her arms around the two giggling kids.

"Time to go now," the woman, their mother Sakura assumed. 

"Okay, mommy!" The little girl squeaked and kissed her mother. The mother picked the girl up, took the little boy by the hand, and they left the park. 

Sakura watched them leave sadly. These children weren't a thing like her and her brother. Their mother had been dead when they were that age. She envied those children. _They'll grow up with a mother to take care of them. _She missed her own mother so much. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she quickly brushed it away.

Glancing down at her watch, Sakura decided she better be getting back to school. Math class would be over by now, and if she skipped the whole day her dad would be notified. She grudgingly got up and left for the school.

* * *

After a long day at school, and a tedious meal with her brother and father, Sakura was able to get ready for the party. She knew she didn't have anything to wear, but finally decided on a tight, short, sleeveless, black dress. It had a low neck and was covered in glitter. It was her second favourite dress, next to her ankle-length powder blue one, which was too fancy for a party. 

Although Kero tried his best to help Sakura with her hair and makeup, his little paws weren't much use, so Sakura had to do it all by herself. She was used to this. Living with males made her very indpendant. She learned everything by herself.It was difficult pinning all her hair up in a tight bun, but the extra strand worked. It sent little curls tumbling around her face which hadn't quite lost all its childish sweetness. The look was a little innocent, a little deceptive.

She applied blue eye shadow thickly around her eyes and added blue shimmery mascara. Tomoyo once told her that too much makeup made her look like a little kid, so Sakura only used a soft pink on her lips that didn't stand out too much. To top it off, she smeared pink glitter over her cheeks and eyes.

Kero whistled in approval. "You lookbeautiful, Sakura-chan. But how exactly are you planning on escaping this time? Your father wasn't fooled by Mirror this time."

Sakura grinned at him. "The traditional way works best, Kero-chan, ne?" 

Kero groaned and placed his head in his hands. "_Sakura-chan! _You have to be kidding." 

"Ara, you know Otousan won't bother me if he thinks I'm asleep. Mirror ruined it by waking up last time."

Sakura stuffed two old pillows under her bed, fluffing them out here and there to make a body shape. "I suppose I could use my doll for the head, ne?" She asked uncertainly. She had a doll resembled her greatly and she placed it's head upside on her bed. "It'll have to do."

Some sort of luck prevented her dress from ripping as she jumped down but she landed with a hard thump. The porch light flickered on and Sakura froze. It was all over. She tried to inch away but sheknew she must be caught in the light. 

A figure stepped out into the shadows. "Dare?"

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Touya. She waved at him from where she hid in the bushes. He was a little startled but grinned at her.

"Don't tell, okay niichan?"

"Don't worry,kaijuu. I won't tell. Have fun." 

Sakura mouthed 'arigatou' and disapered into the night.

Sakura walked part of the way, then took a bus to Miyuko's. She'd never been to Miyuko's house before; she'd only gotten the address that day, so she had to gape at the huge house. Even from outside she was taken back from the sheer elegance of it. Miyuko lived in the most well-off part of Tomoeda. Her house had to be five times as large as Sakura's. A black iron gate wrapped around the perimeter of the house, but the door was wide open. Exotic gardens had been trampled through but the trimmed labyrinth of trees was untouched.

"Konbanwa, Sakura-chan!" Miyuko greeted her, her voice a little loud considering how close they were. "Isn't this SO much fun?!" 

Sakura glanced around. People were making out everywhere, swimming naked in the pool, fighting, and generally acting pretty nutty. Some people were just sitting on the damp grass, staring into nothing. Loud music was booming and strobe lights flashed the large yard in brilliant colours, but nobody seemed to dancing.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "It's great." 

"Come on!" Miyuko grabbed Sakura's hand. "Let's dance!" She jumped up and down like a puppy or small child. Sakura looked at her oddly; Miyuko was usually so calm. The other girls grinned when they saw Sakura's reaction. 

"Don't mind her," one of Miyuko's groupies said. "She's wasted. She doesn't know what she's saying."

"Actually, Sakura-chan," someone whispered into her ear, breath smelling horrbily of liqour. "That's where the fun starts." Sakura jumped and turned around. It was only Satoshi. She looked at them all, a sick knot forming in her stomach. They all had this hyper, stupid look on their faces. 

"Come on, babe," Satoshi croaked. "Let's go dance, you can trip with us later." He pulled her off to the pool deck where a few couples were 'dancing.'


	8. HACHI

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Eight

Sakura felt like she been dancing forever. She was in some Faerie land where time in non-existent. The night waltzed by her and Sakura lost herself in the music. What must have been hours later Sakura was jerked back to her world forcefully. She had asked if they could stop for a while, but Satoshi wasn't tired at all and wanted to keep dancing. "Let's get something to drink," Sakura said to him. He grinned sickly at her. "Sure, babe."

He led her inside the house. The outside of the house was nothing compared to the inside. It could've been a mansion if it weren't for the kids strewn all over the place and all the mess. A large fire was burning in the living room making the house uncomfortably hot. Sakura had to assume that Miyuko's parents wouldn't be home for awhile.

She would've liked to look around the beautiful house, but Satoshi lead her into the kitchen. A bunch of drunken teenagers were sitting on the counters and tables. Sakura recognized one of them-Limina-from school. She had gone to school with Limina since they were children and she knew her to a shy, bookworm, like her Naoko. It was surprising to see her dancing naked on top of the kitchen island while spectateurs cheered appreiciatively. 

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" Limina yelled, giving her no attention but a little wave

"Limina? What-"

"Here, Sakura-chan," Satoshi said handing her a slick, brown bottle. "You'll like this kind. Its my 'tousan's special brand."

"Un, arigato." She stared at the bottle, running her fingers over the cold surface. She couldn't tell Satoshi she had never drunk before. She couldn't tell him she didn't want to. She tugged at the cap and it tore into her flesh. 

"Like this, honey," Satoshi said with a smile, and demonstrated how to twist off the cap.

Sakura flushed and copied him. The liquid smelt awful, but she brought it up to her lips and poured a few drops down her throat. The stuff burned, making her eyes water. In her opinion, it was nothing short of poison. 

She bit back a "eww" and it was hard not to make a face. _People like this stuff?!_ _People illegealy go through trouble to get stuff like this? _She felt a little lightheaded, but it took her mind of the sick taste. 

Satoshi flung a long, muscled arm over her shoulder and brought her in close, almost spilling her beer in the sudden movement. "See, what did I tell, you? Its good, ne?" He's smile widened and he pulled her away from the kitchen. "Lets go see what Admie brought."

"Brought? You mean like music?" Sakura wondered if they were going to dance some more. If they were, she wanted a break first. She felt a little tired.

Satoshi laughed. "You're so cute, Sakura-chan."

They found Miyuko's group by the pool. They girls had their long legs dangling into the water, and kept shooting nasty looks on the couples making out near them. Sakura and Satoshi sat down indian-style on the grass next to them and peered into the bag Amie held out.

"That's it?" Satoshi asked dully.

"What do you mean 'that's it'? I worked my ass off to get this for you guys! This is high quality stuff!"

"Remember what happened the last time you gave us 'high-quality' stuff?"

"Ara, shut up! I don't see you bringing in the shit!"

"So what did you bring?" Satoshi asked impatiently. 

Miyuko glared at him and began to dig through her plastic ziplock. "Let's see…I have some acid…X. I was lucky Seiji had some left." _Where did that name sound familiar from? _

"Here, Sakura-chan, hold out your hand," pink-haired Sakia said. Sakura was unsure but did as she was told. Sakia popped two small white pills into her hand. The pills had two little red hearts painted over a skull. "Because its your first time, so we assume, you can have them free." 

Sakura tried to push aside her growing fearing. "What is it?" 

"The love drug. Ecstasy," she explained seeing Sakura's confused look. 

"Ara, right. Of course." 

Sakura put them on her tongue for a second, absorbing it's better taste, then swallowed it. She couldn't stop her face from contorting into a monstrious expression of her dislike. Though not as bitter and firey as the beer had been, X was nothing short of gross.

The group of teenagers snickered and patted Sakura on the back. "It's worth it, Sakura-chan. Ypu won't even notice the taste after a while." A light, fuzzy feeling of europhia washed over her. _Why haven't I tried this before? _She saw the LSD in the other bag. "Oooh, let me have some of those!" She pointed to the bag.

Admie gave her some, grinning with satisfaction. Sakura gulped them down. She had never felt so good in her life. She felt like she could do anything. She was free, and in control. She was powerful.

"This is fun," she said to her friends, words slurred. 

"You bet it is. If you stick with us we can take you to amazing places." The world rolled around her, the colors all mushing together. Sakura felt like she could hear each color and see each sound. It was wonderful. Everything the girls said sounded beautiful. They were speaking some foreign language, and couldn't understand each other, but that didn't matter. They didn't need to hear, they were one. One mind, one love… 

Sakura grabbed Satoshi's arm and pulled him to the pool. "Screw dancing!" She giggled and pushed him in the pool. Her friends waved as she jumped in. "Yippee!" There were thousands of creatures making out around her, but she didn't care. It was almost magical, everyone uniting with love in the pool. Sex wasn't bad. Sex was a poetic expression of happiness. Yes, sex is poetry.

She found Satoshi and kissed him. The two smiled at each other and dove under water. The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Sakura. She remembered after the pool she and Satoshi lay on the grass and stared. She examined each little blade of grass. It was beautiful. Nature was so beautiful tonight.

* * *

She woke up with one hell of a headache. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and groggily tried to lift her head. This wasn't her room. _Where am I? _She couldn't remember much from the previous night. Looking around all she could see was the hundreds of kids surrounding her, most asleep. Some were naked, and some were soaking wet. 

Sakura managed to stand and fully take in her surrondings. She was at Miyuko's house. She was okay. She and Satoshi must have fallen asleep there. Sakura glanced at the clock and realized it was only eight o'clock. Still, she'd better get home before her father noticed she was gone. 

Careful not to step on anyone, which was quite difficult considering the floor was littered with bodies, Sakura made her way over to the front door. 

"Sakura-chan…Chotto…"a voice heaved from behind her. "Sakia-chan? Ohayo. I really have to go." 

Her new friend grinned and nodded. "Un, I know. I just wanted to tell you…if you ever want more…I have a really great supplier. He's looking for new customers right now."

Sakura hadn't thought of that. Drugs wasn't something she had ever wanted to become involved in. From a young age it had been drilled into her head that drugs were bad. But they were so good…_They were gonna be a one time thing. But…I love the way they make me feel. _"Hm, can I have a number then?" 

"I'll tell you at school. Later, Sakura-chan." With that, Sakia's head flopped back down on the plush sofa.

Sakura walked home, though she felt a little weird, she was still pretty high and in a very good mood. She was litteraly bouncing and singing off-key all the way down the street. She crawled through her window and crashed to the floor, waking up her small friend. "Ohayo, Kero-chan!" 

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-chan. Did you have fun?" 

"Yep! God, Kero-chan, it was the best! It was so, so, so much fun!!!" 

"You're awfully cheerful this morning." _Just like you used to be._

"Yeah! That's because the party was so cool! They had some great stuff there!" She caught we she said and covered her mouth, but Kero hadn't noticed. 

"You got lucky, Sakura-chan. Your Otousan never came up to check on you. But I don't think you should sneak out too often any more. Not if you want to go to America." Sakura grinned at him. "I know, Kero-chan. Last night was just _really _important. I'm so glad I went. You know…I think you should've come! I think you would've loved it!"

Sakura rambled on about how great the party was as she changed into more casual clothes. She washed off her makeup and took down her hair. Except for the fact that she was a little pale, nobody would be able to guess she'd been out partying. Her body did not tell the internal tale of nausea.

She was still talking as she slammed the door in Kero's face. Fujitaka was sitting at the table with the paper and Touya was cooking breakfast when Sakura skipped in. "Ohayo, 'touchan!" Sakura cried and kissed him on the cheek. 

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-chan," said a very startled Fujitaka. 

Sakura flung herself on her brother as well and placed and giant smack on his cheek. "Ohayo, niichan!"

"Eww, kaijuu!" 

Sakura just giggled and sat down at the table. 

"You're in a good mood this morning," Fujitaka remarked. 

"Yep!" 

Fujitaka smiled and felt a bit of relief seep into him. Perhaps he wouldn't have to worry about Sakura anymore.

"Do you want some bacon and eggs, Sakura-chan?" Fujitaka asked his daughter. 

"Yep! Lots! I'm really hungry!" 

"Tell me when to stop," Touya had brought over the frying pan and began to load food onto her plate. Sakura never told him to stop and he stopped when the plate was almost overflowing. 

"Kaijuu …are you gonna be able to eat all that?" her brother asked dubiously. 

"Of course!" She giggled and dove into her food. 

The two men exchanged glances, neither of them could figure out why Sakura was acting like this. They would have to blame it on typical teenage moodswings. Fujitaka was sure he had read about it in a parenting magazine somewhere. 

"Sakura-chan," Touya said. "Yukito-san is arriving this afternoon." 

Sakura grinned. "That's great!" She hadn't seen her brother's friend in over a year. 

"He's got a girlfriend now, you know." 

Sakura's smile never faltered. "That's good." Seeing her brother's surprised expression, she added," I got over that little crush a long time ago, Onnichan. Me 'n him are just friends now." 

"You'd better be. I don't want you glomping him the whole time."

Sakura giggled. "Would I do that?" She ate her last piece of bacon and retreated to her room, so quickly no one could be sure she had ever been there at all. 

Her family stared after her, not quite sure of what they'd witnessed. "That was…" Touya said. 

"Different." Fujitaka finished off the sentence.

Sakura meant to head to her bedroom but suddenly a strong desire pushed her to a different room. She flung up the toilet seat and promptly threw up her entire breakfast. The high fading, she felt sicker than ever before in her life. "Oh, man…" when she was done she lay against the wall weakly. 

Kero came in and stared at her with wide eyes. "Sakura-chan?" He saw the toilet and groaned. "Sakura-chan, you didn't…" 

Sakura shrugged, turned green and vomited again. Kero had to look away; it totally grossed him out to see people be sick. Someone, obviously not Kero, scooped up Sakura's hair away from her face and held her head until she was done.

Sakura wiped her mouth on her sleeves and turned to stare into the angry, concerned eyes of Touya. 

"Onnisan…"Sakura whispered. "I don't feel very well." 

"I know, Sakura-chan," he said as he helped her up. Supporting her with arm, he led her to her room and told her to get into bed. He brought her the necessary bucket and went off in search of asprin. 

__

What am I going to do with you, Sakura-chan? I can't let you go the same way as Okaasan. Ara, 'kaachan, please stop her from your fate.


	9. KYU

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha.

A/N: I know Tomoyo and Syaoran haven't been in this much and everyone probably misses them, so I try to get them in this chapter, K?

Sakura lay in bed the rest of the morning. Touya had brought her an aspirin, but hadn't helped much. "Kaiju?" her brother whispered. "What did you do to yourself?" Sakura tried to smile. 

"I thought I was having a good time. That's all."

"Eeto, you have one hell of a hangover." 

Sakura laughed. "So this is what a hangover feels like, huh?"

"I can't say it's okay, Sakura-chan," Touya said. "You're only fifteen. _Underage. _What else did you do there, huh?" 

Sakura glared at him. "Could you please do this later, niisan? My head hurts." 

Touya sighed. "Otousan has gone to work. You don't have to worry about him finding out. Demo, its my job as your older brother." 

Touya probably would've continued, but here was a knock at the door. "Come in," Sakura said weakly. She sat right up when she saw who it was. "Yukito-san!" 

"Hi, Sakura-chan. Hey, Touya-kun." He crossed Sakura messy floor and sat beside Touya on the bed. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan? Are you sick?" His beautiful hand rested on her forhead, then moved back through her hair. Sakura had the feeling Yue was just dying to say something.

"Hai, she's sick," Touya muttered. "The silly kaijuu had a _little _too much to drink last night." 

__

That's not all, Sakura thought contently. 

Yukito smiled and clucked at her. "You should know better, Sakura-chan." But he wasn't angry like Touya was. "Actually, Touya-kun, I seem to remember you getting yourself drunk an awful lot when you were her age." 

"That was different." Sakura wanted to talk to Yukito, but she was really tired. And she didn't want to be sick in front of her first love. "Um, guys? I'm really tired. Can we all talk later?"

"Of course," Yukito said. "Just sleep it off." Touya turned to his sister one last time before leaving the room. "Kaiju, do you want anything?" 

Sakura closed her eyes. "No thanks, niisan." 

Touya looked at her ashen face and said, "I'll make you some honey-milk, okay?" Sakura didn't respond, she was fast asleep.

* * *

"Moshi moshi?" Touya answered the phone. 

"Can I speak to Sakura-chan please?" 

"Sakura isn't allowed to talk on the phone, you know that Tomoyo!" 

"This is important." 

"Well, she's asleep." 

"But it's two in the afternoon!!" 

"You should tell _her_ that!" 

"That's what I'm _trying_ to do! Can I come over?" 

"I guess so. But you'll have to leave before Otousan gets home." 

"Okay. Ja mata!"

Touya wondered if it was okay to let Tomoyo over. Sakura didn't want visitors, she hadn't even wanted to talk with Yukito. But Tomoyo was her best friend and all…

Tomoyo arrived almost instantly. She let herself in, said a quick hello to Yukito, then ran up to Sakura's bedroom. She opened the door slowly and peered inside. "Sakura-chan?" Sakura didn't wake up, so Tomoyo crossed the room and stared down at her.

"Sakura-chan! Wake up! I want to know about the party!" Tomoyo looked at her friend worriedly. Sakura looked really sick. _She looks like she is dead. _

But Sakura opened her eyes slowly. "Tomoyo-chan? What are you doing here?" 

"I came to visit you, silly! Tell me about the party."

Sakura winced. "It was great, Tomoyo-chan. It's too bad you couldn't have come." 

"You're hungover, aren't you?" 

Sakura nodded. "It's totally worth it though. Being drunk, I mean." 

Tomoyo sighed. "Did you dance with Satoshi-kun?"

"Yeah, and more." 

"What do you mean?" Tomoyo narrowed her eyes at Sakura. "Ara, Sakura-chan! You've gone and damaged your good rep!" 

"Eeto, I'm not sure if it happened." 

"Ara, that's even better!" Tomoyo looked kind of sad. "Sakura-chan? What's happened to you?"

"Nothing, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura closed her eyes, trying to block her friend out. _Just go away, Tomoyo. Don't try to play the adult here, _

"Li-kun called me last night," Tomoyo played with the folds of Sakura's sheets. Nervous. "He wanted to know where you were." Tomoyo bit her lip. "I told him the truth. Oh, God, Sakura-chan! He was so upset! Can't you see what you're doing to him?"

"I'm not his. He doesn't own me."

"Sakura-chan, he's your _boyfriend_. You kind of own each other." 

Sakura crossed her eyes in annoyance. "Look, Tomoyo-chan, how can I explain this to you? Life is for living. You know, to the fullest. I want to try everything at least once before I die. I want to live my life _my way_, free and happy and…" she stopped, unable to explain herself.

Tomoyo understood. "Sakura-chan, you don't need to do this. You have nothing to prove. Syaoran _loves _you. You're more than just his girlfriend to him. Why can't you understand?" 

"No! Why can't _you _understand? I'm only fifteen! I just want to have a good time." 

Tomoyo stood up disgusted. "Sakura-chan, you're my best friend and I love you. But right now I have to go." She refused to let the tears fall until she was safely out of the room. 

Sakura stared at the open door for a long time, not sure what to think. _Is Tomoyo mad at me? Why can't anyone understand? What's wrong with everybody?_ Sakura cried herself back to sleep, mad at the world for being so square, and mad at herself for not being square enough.

* * *

Later Touya brought Sakura some honey-milk just as he promised and told her that Syaoran had called. Sakura told her brother that she didn't want to speak to anyone, not even Syaoran. 

"What happened, Sakura-chan?" Touya asked. "I saw Tomoyo run out and she was crying. Did you two have a fight?"

Sakura's eyes widened at this. She hadn't meant to hurt her friend. "It's nothing," Sakura said.

Her brother shrugged and left figuring Sakura would to it in her own time. 

Sakura sip her honey milk slowly, savoring the sweet, warm liquid. She used to love this drink when she was little. Whenever she was sick someone would make it for her and she'd feel better right away. It was comforting.

She remembered the time Syaoran was sick and she had made him honey-milk. He loved it almost as much as her._ Syaoran-kun…does he hate me? What if he finds out about Satoshi? _Sakura wanted to talk to him, to make sure he still loved her, but she was afraid that he would be mad at her just like Tomoyo was.

The last drop of honey-milk fell onto Sakura's tongue and she was a little sad to see it all go. She was tempted to ask for some more, but she knew from experience that too much wasn't good for you. "Kero-chan?" Sakura asked the little teddy bear figure. 

"Hmmm?" he looked up from the game he was playing.

"Could you bring me my phone, please?" 

"I'm in the middle of a game, Sakura-chan! Can't it wait?" 

"Please, it's important." 

Kero turned back to his game and swore, "Awww! You made me lose, Sakura!" Grumbling, he went and got her phone for her.

Sakura hesitated for a moment, but decided she couldn't put it off for any longer. She pressed number two on her speed dial and held her breath as she waited for someone to pick up. 

"Moshi moshi?" A young female voice said. 

Huh? There aren't any girls at Syaoran's house! Who could it be? Sakura was filled with dread suddenly when she realized it could be Syaoran's new girlfriend. But where did that voice sound so familiar from? "Mooo-shi, mooo-shi?" The voice on the other end said impatiently. 

A rush of memories suddenly flooded Sakura's mind. A childish girl voice, so eager to prove itself. She almost dropped the phone when she realized who it was. "Mei-ling?" She whispered.


	10. JYU

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to the extremely talented CLAMP. Nobody sue cos I have no money. 

"Mei-ling?" Sakura repeated. 

"Eeto, hai. Who else? Is this Sakura?" 

"What are you do- I mean, when did you get back?" 

Mei-ling laughed. "Last week. I'm coming back to school tomorrow. I wasn't needed anymore in Hong Kong so I was sent back here." 

"Umm…umm…that's great." Sakura was a little hurt. _Why hadn't Syaoran told me she was back?_ "Don't worry, Sakura. We broke the engagement. I have a perfectly good boyfriend now and Syaoran is all yours." 

"Speakin' of Syaoran-kun, Mei-ling, can I speak to him?" 

"Sure. I'll go get him."

Apparently Meling's idea of getting her cousin was to hold the phone away from her face and yell his name over and over until her told her to shut up. 

"Sakura-chan." 

"Syaoran-kun, hi. What's up?" 

"Nothing much. Are you okay, Sakura-chan? You sound funny." 

"Huh? Iie, daijoubu. I wanted to make sure you aren't mad at me." 

"Iie, of course not. Why would I be mad at you?"

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, then realized his voice was laced with sarcasam. "I'm so sorry, Syaoran-kun. What did Tomoyo tell you?" 

"Just that you went to a party. Look, it's not big deal. I trust you." 

Sakura swallowed hard as her eyes welled up with tears. "Arigato. Do you want to come over? We could rent a movie and make popcorn or something…" her voice trailed off. 

"No thanks, Sakura. Mei-ling and me are going out. She just got back and all. It wouldn't be…I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Ara, okay. I understand. Do you want to talk for a while? I miss talking to you." Sakura could hear Mei-ling yelling something in the background. 

"Sumimasen, Sakura-chan. Maybe some other day. I really have to go.Um, ja." _Click._ The dial done buzzed in Sakura's ears, a reminder of how screwed she was.

"Sakura-chan?" Kero looked at her puzzled. 

"Nani!?" That came out a little harsher than Sakura had meant it. 

"Can I have some fudge?" he asked tentatively. 

Sakura had to smile. "You know, Kero-chan, I think we could all do with some fudge right now."

* * *

The next day at school, Tomoyo and Syaoran avoided Sakura like she had the plague. They seemed so awkward, if that was the right word, rather than angry. Sakura couldn't figure out what she'd done wrong. And while Sakura's old friends were ignoring her, her new friends were constantly around. Sakura always sat with them at lunch now, and talked with them during class.

Mei-ling had no idea what had been going on in the five years she'd been away, so she was fairly civil to Sakura. One day Sakura's new friends suggested they go disco bowling and Sakura asked if she could bring Mei-ling. "She's new here at school (sort of) and she doesn't really know anybody except for me and Syaoran." 

"Is she cool?" Miyuko had asked. 

Sakura shrugged. "About as cool as I am." 

Miyuko smiled, the cold smile popular people often wear when addressing those they considered below them. "I suppose we could give her a try. Since she's your friend and all Sakura." 

When Sakura told Mei-ling all this, her reaction wasn't at all like Sakura had expected. 

"I don't need your charity, Sakura. I can make friends on my own." 

"Huh? You don't want to come? It'll be fun, Mei-ling.." 

Mei-ling frowned sourly, but agreed to come anyway. She did remark upon the fact she didn't like Miyuko's group, however. She said they were a bunch of slutty bitches. Sakura almost uninvited her right then and there. But reminded herself that this was _Syaoran's _cousin and she didn't want her mad. 

"They're really nice, you'll see." 

* * *

"Sneaking out again?" Kero asked her later that night. "I thought you said that the party was the last time." 

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "I promised Mei-ling that I'd bring her." 

Kero rolled his eyes. "I'm sure. As if Mei-ling has anything to do with it." 

Sakura turned around to glare at the guardian beast. "Be quiet, Kero-chan. I'm going and that's that." 

"Okay. But if you don't get to go on your trip, don't blame me." 

Sakura sighed and continued to rummage through her closet. "Kero-chan!" she wailed. 

"Nani?" 

"I don't have anything to wear!!!" 

"Isn't it dark during disco bowling? Nobody will see what you're wearing." 

"Errr! That's not the point! I have to look good. Satoshi might be there." 

"What do you care about Satoshi? I thought you were going out with Syaoran." 

"Well, Syaoran isn't speaking to me right now…I need a backup."

"That's sick."

She pulled her long flared jeans out of her closet and threw them on the bed. "This'll do…" 

Kero flew into her closet and pulled up a shirt with his teeth. "How about this? You always look cute in this one." 

Sakura snatched it away from him. "Kero-chan! I can't where that! It's got little cutesy flowers on it!"

Kero sighed and picked up another one. 

"This?" 

"Iie! Kero-chan you have no fashion sense at all." She rummaged through the piles of clothing on her floor. "Perfect!" she held a blue sequined tank top. 

Kero made a face. "Horrible." 

Sakura laughed and threw her pillow at him. 

When Sakura was all dressed she summoned the Mirror card once more and told it to pretend to be asleep. The card grumbled a bit at this, saying that's all it ever go to do was sleep."

"Ja, Kero-chan!" Sakura said and climbed out the window. 

"Bye…Oh, well!" Kero turned on the TV set and put in his favourite game.

* * *

Sakura picked up Mei-ling at her house. The other girl hadn't changed at all- she was still wearing what she worn all day. 

"That's what you're wearing?" 

"Yeah. So what?" 

Sakura shrugged. "Nothing." She saw Syaoran move through the house, though her view was obsocured by Mei-ling's figure. "Syaoran-kun!" 

Syaoran jumped in surprise. "Konbanwa," he said polietly and quickly got himself out of there.

"Sakura-chan…," Mei-ling remarked slyly as they walked along. "What's up with you andmy dear cousin? He barley says a word to you anymore." 

"I wish I knew." 

"Did you two have a fight?" 

"Iie …Not exactly." 

"So what then?" Mei-ling pressed. The girl never knew when to leave alone.

"It's not really any of your business, Mei-ling!" 

"Daidouji-san said you cheated on him."

Sakura turned to the girl, horrified. "_Tomoyo-chan _said that?" 

"Yup Its all over school now!" 

__

I can't believe. My good sweet little Tomoyo? No wonder nobody but Miuyko and them are talking to me. "Eeto, hurry up, we can't miss this bus," Sakura said and the two girls walked down to the bus stop. 

"Did you?" 

"Did I what?" 

"Cheat on my cousin?" 

Sakura glared at her. "Of course not!" 

"Hmm, that's funny. I wouldn't have taken Daidouji-san as a liar." 

Sakura flushed and got on the bus. "Forget about it, Mei-ling. Me and Syaoran-kun are fine." 

Mei-ling grinned. "Whatever. I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm just watching out for my cuz, you know?" 

The girls sat in the back and talked the whole way to the bowling alley. Sakura could remember a time when she and Mei-ling hated each other. Now she couldn't even remember why. _Was it the Clow cards? Or was it Syaoran? _All she knew was it was nice talking to Mei-ling like this. She discovered Mei-ling was a totally different girl than she'd thought. Ara, sure they'd made up before Mei-ling went back to Hong Kong, but they never really had the chance to get to know each other.

The light sprinkling of rain that had accompanied them to the alley now turned to a heavy downpour. Hunched over, the girls raced to the door and hurried inside. It was dark inside; the strobe lights hadn't been turned on yet. And the building was completely empty, save a custodian in the back, sweeping up old chip bags. 

Sakura and Mei-ling huddled close together and walked to the desk. 

"Where is everyone?" Mei-ling asked, on the verge of annoyance. "Where are your friends?" 

"Are they closed? I'm sure this is the time Miyuko-chan told me to come." 

"They can't be closed," Mei-ling pointed out. "The door's unlocked."

"Excuse me," Sakura called out to the custodian. "Is the alley open?" The old man looked up at them and showed a toothy grin. "You two girlies shouldn't be here. This place doesn't open for two more hours." 

"Nani? Are you sure?" 

The skeleton-like man cackled. "Of course I'm sure. Now get out before I call the cops."

Sakura and Mei-ling left, confused and angry. "Did Miyuko lie to me?" Sakura asked herself. 

"I told you those girls are trouble," Mei-ling said. 

"Iie! They just must have told me the wrong time! They…forget stuff sometimes…" 

Mei-ling sighed and glanced up at the sky. "Sakura-chan…it's raining. I'm going home."

All of a sudden, despite their past differences, Sakura wanted Mei-ling to stay. "Please don't go, Mei-ling-chan. Let's go see a movie or something, okay?" 

Mei-ling was tempted to refuse. When a night starts out so awful sometimes its best just to go to bed. Though she enjoyed Sakura's company she wasn't sure she felt so good with her anymore. Maybe she should cuddle up with Syaoran and re-watch _Hikizuruka ni Seika. _That's probably what he was doing, in a nice, warm… But she couldn't just leave Sakura out here alone. "Alright," she sighed.

The next bus wasn't coming for half an hour so they had to walk. The sky exploded with a great boom and a flash of brilliant white light. "Great," Mei-ling muttered. "Lightning." 

"Come on, Mei-ling!" Sakura said cheerfully. "Don't be a grouch. It's kind of fun!"

"Hah! Fun?" 

"Look, Mei-ling. The theater is just up there. We'll be inside in five minutes." 

"Okay." They could hear tires screech and water spraying. The two girls turned to see a car swerving at them at an unbelievable speed. 

"What the hell is with that asshole?" Sakura yelled. "Learn to drive!" she shouted. Her eyes widened in confusion. "Hey, isn't that Satoshi's car? And all the girls are in there!" _They must be stoned again…_

Mei-ling tugged at Sakura's shirt. "Sakura-chan…" fear was apparent in her eyes. "Nani?" 

"Doesn't it seem as if it's heading right at us?" 

"Hoe?" Sakura saw a bright flash of headlights, water sprayed into her eyes, and the two girls screamed once before everything went black. 


	11. JYUICHI

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha. 

As Sakura came to, the very first thing her concious mind was aware of was a sharp pounding in her skull. She tried to sit up but her whole body ached and she seemed to be tied down by hundreds of cords. The white light was blinding. "Hoe? What's going on?" her voice was shrikk and childish. Suddenly it all came back to her in a flash. The bowling alley was closed, it was raining, something had hit her and Mei-ling. There had been pain and a slow crimson spread.

__

Mei-ling…"Where's Mei-ling-chan?" she cried. "Is she okay?" 

"Shh," a strange male voice said. "Lie still." 

"Iie!" Sakura cried and forced her eyes open. She took a look around her and gasped. She was lying on a white hospital bed in a plain white room. Aside from a couple of cabinets, she was alone in the room with a young man dressed in white. White, white, white! Everything was so clean and pure! Where did the darkness go? Where was it hiding?

"Sakura Kinomoto?" The man asked. 

Sakura nodded strangely. She felt as though she was floating. _Am I dreaming?_

"I'm Dr.Hasani. Do you remember what happened?" 

"A car…" she said, trying to sort the images in her mind. It hurt to think. A searing pain came whenever she attempted to remember. "It was going really fast." 

"That's right," the doctor nodded encouragingly, scribbling down on a piece of paper. He looked triumphant. "You and your friend were hit. You aren't too bad off. You have a minor concussion and some scrapes. You were extremely lucky, actually." 

Sakura sighed for a moment, feeling relief wash over her, then a horrible thought began to emerge. "Mei-ling? Where'sMei-ling? Is she okay?" 

The cheerful look disappeared from the doctor's eyes and he frowned. "Sakura, you're friend is being treated in another area. You should rest now."

A nurse entered the room and spoke briefly with Dr. Hasani. His frown deepened and he spoke harshly with the young woman, however he kept his smile steady for Sakura. "Eeto, Sakura," he said to her. "Your family is here. Would you like to see them?" 

Sakura groaned and sunk into her bedding. _I'm going to get it now. If Mei-ling is hurt bad then Otousan will blame me for it. It is all my fault. I will have to face up to it._ She nodded. _No point in preventing the inevitable. _

The nurse pulled up the door and Touya and Fujitaka fell in, looking tired and distraught. Fujitaka rushed over to his daughter. "Sakura!" he cried, bundling her in his arms. "Are you alright?" 

Sakura nodded, embarrassed. "Un, daijoubu." 

"Hey, kaijuu," Touya said, joining them. He only ruffled Sakura's hair and stepped away, but Sakura could see the tearstains on his cheeks. _He must have been so worried! He used to be able to see when I was in trouble and now he must feel so helpless! I be he is regretting giving Yue his power._

"Otousan …Gomen nasai…" 

Fujitaka shushed, rocking her slowly back and forth as if she was a small child. "None of this is your fault, Sakura-chan. Just rest now. Don't blame yourself…As long as you're okay…" 

"Otousan? What happened to Mei-ling? I want to see her!" 

"I don't think…" Fujitaka cast an uneasy eye to the doctor. He mouthed something that Sakura couldn't make out and the doctor gave a simple nod.

Fujitaka swung Sakura up in his arms, cradling her. Even that slight motion made Sakura feel sick and dizzy and so she clung tightly around her father's neck. She was carried down to ICU, Touya and the doctor tailing behind

"She's in here?" Sakura asked, eyes widening with shock. Wasn't ICU where those who were really bad off went? 

"Of course," Touya sighed. "She did get hit by a car."

"But so did I." 

Touya did not respond and Sakura let the matter drop.

The room was dim but Sakura could make out two dark figures were huddled next toMei-ling's bed and when they turned around, Sakura was horrified to see they were Syaoran and Tomoyo. _Did they care more to see Mei-ling than me? Of course, this wasn't any of Mei-ling's fault and look at her! _

Touya saw her look and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. They did go to see you, but you were still unconscious. That stupid gaki sure has a dirty mouth, imouto."

Syaoran's head lifted up slowly until he made eye contact with his girlfriend. An unmistakable fury burned in his eyes and his body was racking with some passion. "Sakura-chan!" he burst out, and as he ran to her Sakura couldn't help but see the figure of a small child, injured beyond belief. 

Fujitaka set Sakura down gently and stepped back to give the two room, but close enough so that he could still support her if she fell. 

Syaoran held his arms out and touched her face gingerly. _She's so fragile. _The girl gave a gasp and collasped against him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, afraid to let go. 

Sakura was shocked. _He isn't angry! _Hot tears dripped onto her neck, but they weren't her own. "Syaoran-kun?" 

"Hmm?" His voice was choked and grief-stricken. 

"I love you, but you're kind of squishing me."

He blushed pink and stepped away slightly, but he never let go of her. "Gomen. I… was afraid you were dead. Ara, God, Sakura-chan! I thought you were _dead!_" 

"Baka," Tomoyo teased. "The doctor said she was alright." The pale girl hugged Sakura. "I'm so glad you're okay. We were really afraid. When we got that call…" 

Sakura was near tears herself. She wanted to reassure her friends that she was all right, but she saw Mei-ling lying crumpled and broken on the bed behind them and like in a trance she moved towards her.

"Sakura-chan…" Syaoran whispered and stuck his hand in hers. "Mei-ling is…" Sakura covered her mouth in horror when she saw her friend lying there. Mei-ling's face was completely torn up to the point of being unreconizable, her body was all scratched up and the once-white bandage wrapped tightly around her dark head was throuoghly soaked with crimson. She was so pale and still that Sakura was sure she couldn't be alive.

"I'm so sorry, Syaoran-kun! I'm so, so sorry!" 

Syaoran didn't know what to say. He wanted to comfort his girlfriend, but the anger was still too near. He couldn't choose between the two girls. 

"The doctors said she's stabilized," Tomoyo said. "But she got hit by the car head on, you were pushed out of the way." 

"She'll be okay, right?" Sakura asked "She has to be okay." 

"We don't know, Sakura-chan. The doctor said she's in a coma." 

__

Why Mei-ling? It's not fair! It's all my fault! 

Syaoran put a hand out to steady his girlfriend. "Sakura-chan, we don't blame you. You just happened to be there at the same time." 

"But I invited her! And I'm the one who insisted she didn't go home. If it weren't for me-"

No one knew quite what to do about Sakura. What could they say? "Let's go home, Sakura-chan," Fujitaka suggested. "You need to get some rest." 

"Iie! I can't leave. I have to stay with Mei-ling." Sakura broke into hysterical sobs and slowly sunk to the floor.

Touya and Fujitaka exchanged glances before pulling the girl up. Once again, Fujitaka swung his daughter up into his arms and carried her out the door, ignoring her mad protests. 

"We'll call you if anything changes," Tomoyo called.

Sakura didn't hear. She was in shock. 

* * *

By the next day at school, the news of Sakura and Mei-ling's accident had spread like wildfire. Even kids Sakura didn't know were coming up to her and asking her if she was okay, or to say how sorry they were about Mei-ling. Syaoran was miserable and kept to himself. People had expected the both of them to stay home but they just couldn't. Syaoran found his house to empty without his cousin.

The shock of last night had worn off, and Sakura began to feel like herself when the concussion healed. As soon as she could think straight she realized one thing. She was angry. Somebody was going to pay for this. During lunch, she set out on a mission to find Miyuko's group. It seemed they were the only ones who hadn't talked to Sakura that day.

Sakura found them in the girl's washroom, fixing their hair and smoking. "Hey, Sakura-chan," Miyuko said. "We missed you last night. And what about that Mei-ling girl? I thought we were going to meet her! She couldn't have been to cool if you both went and punked out on us."

Rage flooded through Sakura, a strange primitve emotion she was unused to feeling. "Where the hell where you last night?" she spat out.

"Huh? What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" Admie asked, honestly curious. 

"You know what I mean! We went to the bowling alley and it was closed!" 

"Sakura-chan…"Sakia clucked like a tired parent. "We _were_ at the bowling alley. We were a little late because Satoshi had some car trouble…Maybe you came at the wrong time."

__

Car trouble…Satoshi…It was them! Sakura took a deep breath, knowing whatever happened, it was an accident. _Don't get mad. Don't do something you will regret. Don't get mad. Don't do something…_ "Was Satoshi drunk?" 

Hanako giggled and exhaled in Sakura's face. "I think so. I can't remember much, can you Miyu-chan?" 

Miyuko shook her head. "Nope. I was high all night." 

Sakura was started to put it together. "Haven't you heard about the accident?" 

Admie took a long drag of her cigarette. "What accident?" 

"I can't believe you didn't hear! Do you people live in a vacumn or something? Mei-ling and I were hit by a car last night!" 

Horror filled the girls' eyes as they looked Sakura up and down but they were skeptical. "Gee, Sakura-chan. You don't _look_ like you were hit by a car."

Sakura wanted to scream. "I'm okay, but Mei-ling is in a coma. She might _die._" 

"Ara, that's too bad, Sakura-chan. Do you want some weed? It'll take your mind off it." 

"It was Satoshi's car!" Sakura continued. "I saw you guys in it." 

The girls looked at each other in confusion. "Nah. It couldn't have been. We were-" 

"Actually," Sakia interrupted. "Satoshi's car was pretty smashed up, remember?"

The other girls nodded. "Un, cussing his head of this morning and we couldn't figure out why."

"You know how it is when you're high, Sakura-chan," Sakia pointed out. "But we're really sorry about your friend. And it was like, an accident, you know?" 

Sakura nodded. She understood. Really. But if she stayed any longer she just might lose her temper and when that happened she could do a lot of damage these girls weren't worth. She turned to go.

As she was halfway out the door, she heard Miyuko say," Hey Sakura-chan. Would you like something to help you get through the day?" 

Sakura hesitated for a moment, she really did. She knew it was wrong. And she knew she really shouldn't. But the need was so strong. And she could smell it from inside. 

"Sure," she sighed and joined her friends once more in the washroom.

* * *

Sakura and her dad had an interesting talk that night. Interesting as in half the neighbourhood decided to go out that night rather than experience the mini war going on at the Kinomoto residence. Kero had gone to visit Tomoyo and Touya had escaped to Yukito's place. 

Actually, Fujitaka remained quite calm the whole time. He was sympathetic and as his daughter was still grieving he had to be gentle with her. It was mostly Sakura doing all of the yelling. She had a lot of rage built up inside of her and she let it all out on her father. 

"I don't understand," he whispered. "Where did I go wrong? I was going to let you go on the trip and you disobeyed me again."

"I have a life!" Sakura retorted. "I have better things to do than sit around home all the time!" 

"Don't you raise your voice to me, young lady!" 

"I'll do whatever I want!" 

"Not while you live under my roof you won't!"

Fujitaka took a deep breath and continued. "I know you hurt, Sakura-chan. I'm not blaming you for what happened to Mei-ling but at the moment I am convinced you aren't mature enough to go to all the way across the world. You may not go on your trip. No way, no how." 

"Then I'm going out!" Sakura replied. "If I can't go to America, screw grounding!" 

"Sakura! Chotto! Wait!"

"Sakura-chan…" Fujitaka sat down in his old armchair and lstared out the window, watching Sakura run into the sunset. "I'd give anything to have my little, sweet Sakura-chan back.Ara, God, that's all I want! Please bring my Sakura back to me!" He put his head in his hands and wept.

* * *

Sakura ran for about ten minutes before she got a cramp and had to stop. _Shit! Where can I go now?_ She had acted on pure instinct, running out of the house. She hadn't considered the consequences of what to do after. "Real smart, Sakura," she muttered to herself.

She walked on for awhile, quite aware that it was getting darker. The dark clouds overhead threatened rain and it was so cold. Sakura didn't know whom she could go to. _Syaoran? Tomoyo? Miyuko? Admie? _No, she had to get out. Had to get away. 

Sakura stuck her hand in the pocket of her jeans and produced a iplock bag filled with a hundred or so small, yellow pills. She had bought them off of Miyuko during school. She opened the bag and popped twenty of them in her mouth. A little much perhaps, but she was going to need it.

Sakura stood out in the rain for ten minutes waiting for the bus. When it finally did pull up, she was too out of it to care. She bounced into a seat next to a young man and started talking to him. By the time the bus pulled away from the stop, Sakura was already kissing him. Later she would realize this was the biggest mistake she had ever made in her life.


	12. JYUNI

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Twelve

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to the extremely talented CLAMP. Please don't sue!

A/N: After a nice big bowl of cheery Jell-O, my writer's block is cured! I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter, minna!

Sakura stared glumly up at the ceiling. _What have I gotten myself into now?_ She was in a small stuffy, grey room. The room was sparsely furnished; the biggest piece was the bed, which Sakura was laying on.

__

How the hell did I get here in the first place? What's going on? Hakki. That's right. A tall, alluring young man with raven-hair and soul-piercing amethyst eyes. Sakura had shared her soul with him in this room. That is, they met on the bus and then came to this tiny hotel to make love. She felt dirty. _What the hell have I done to myself?_

Now the other side of the bed was empty. Sakura did not have to wonder about her partner's wearabouts for long because the door soon crashed open, startling Sakura. Hakki crossed the floor and placed himself before her, hands resting on her bare thighs. "Mornin', babe," he leaned over and kissed her. 

"Ohayo," Sakura replied, smiling up at him._ It's kinda funny,_ she thought. _I just met Hakki yesterday, I don't know a thing about him, but I'm already in love with him. He just makes me feel so good. So alive. He is so hot._

Hakki bent over and threw her clothes at her. "Get dressed. I only have this place until noon." 

Sakura flushed and held her clothes up to her. 

He smirked at her. "I saw ya naked all night, hon. Nothin' to be embarrassed about now." 

Sakura turned away and changed into her clothes as quickly as she could, aware that Hakki was making good use of the view. 

"You're very rude," Sakura told him as she pulled up her short denim skirt. 

Hakki put his arm around her and walked her through the door. "It's how I make my livin', babe." They walked out of the door into the bright sunlight. Hakki didn't even bother to lock the door behind them. What was the point? 

They were headed to a little café down the street when Hakki's cell phone rang. He cursed and put it up to his ear. "Nani?" he hissed, turning away from Sakura. "So what? Whatta ya expect me to do?"…."No!"..."Listen, you deal with it! No…I can't. Fine. Fine." Hideki slammed the phone shut and slid it in his pocket.

He grabbed Sakura forcefully and smacked her hard on the lips, and moved down along her body. "Look, chick, I gotta go now. Something important has come up. Maybe I'll see you around. Shit, the bus is here! Look, make some good with yourself, ok?" 

"But…" she stuttered as the bus drove out of sight. "But, I thought you loved me. Hakki!" Filled with despair, she sat down on the curb and wrapped her arms around her thin body. "I love you, Hakki!" 

"Iie, you don't," a voice behind her remarked. 

"Hoe?" Sakura turned her head to see whom the speaker was. 

It was a stocky brunnette, in torn jeans and a b/w stripped tank top, that slumped down next to her. "How would you know?" Sakura sniffed. 

"Kid, you only met the guy last night. Sure you had fun, but get over it." 

Sakura didn't understand. "I love Hakki-" 

"You just think you do. You'll get another boy toy tomorrow."

"He didn't care about me?" Sakura whispered, eyes welling with despair. T

he girl gave a short, cruel laugh. "Sugar, that's the way the world works. Nobody cares about you. It's no big deal. You two had fun screwing each other, right? Hey, I bet you're new at this, ne?" The girl pulled Sakura to her feet. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. Sex takes a lot out of you. By the way, my name's Ryaria." She took a pen out of her pocket and grabbed Sakura's palm. She scribbled some numbers and grinned at the bewildered girl. "If you ever need someone to talk to," she explained, putting the pen away.

* * *

Syaoran was celebrating his new licence (and his new Mercedes- birthday present) by taking a cruise through around the outskirts of Tomoeda. He found these sparsely populated rural areas gave him a great opportunity to think, which is something he couldn't avoid doing. He thought of his poor cousin dying in the hospital and he thought most about his lovely girlfriend who had missing for a whole day now. He had called her house, wanting to talk to her, but Fujitaka had been awfully vague. He said Sakura was unavailable. Syaoran wouldn't buy that. Sakura was gone again.

And Mei-ling…He was worried about Mei-ling, too. She was getting worse. The doctors said that there's a 99% chance that she'll die. _Mei-ling…She can't die! We grew up together! We had plans! _Frustrated with the two girls he cared most about, Syaoran slammed his foot down on the accelerator and zoomed off down the highway.

He was driving nowhere, letting his emotions steer, not his mind. He was driving along a river now. It was beautiful, the sun sparkling on the water, the trees along the road trying to block his view. Pink petals lay strewn over the road, like in ancient rituals. They were cherry trees…_Sakura-chan would've loved this road._

And soon he was driving out of this exclusive scenic road and into a small, dirty town. This wasn't the kind of place he liked to stop in; these places were no good. But there was a diner and Syaoran hadn't had breakfast that morning. 

He parked his car next to the small diner and looked at it with distaste. It was a drab yellow building with only two small windows. There were no other vehicles in the small parking lot, and he assumed no one came here often. The owners probably couldn't afford its upkeep.

Across the street was another rundown building. This one was slightly larger and brick. Syaoran tried to make out the words on the sign. "Sa-something-en toel?" _Must be a motel._ Syaoran soon forgot his surroundings when his stomach growled again.

The inside of the diner was a little better. There was twenty or so small round checkered tables and Syaoran chose the one in the farthest corner. A waitress came and took his order, which consisted of a large cheeseburger, large fry, and a large coke. Though he didn't usually gorge on fast food like this, driving made him famished.

While he waited for his meal, he had nothing to do but look around him. Stare or be lost in his thoughts and he didn't want to think right now. There weren't many other people in the diner. Just an elderly couple, a tough looking biker guy, and two teenage girls.

Since Syaoran had loved Sakura so long he had forced himself to reserve all his attention onto her but now he couldn't help but stare at the two girls. They were very pretty, and much more interesting than counting the ceiling tiles. And their conversation was very intriguing.

Syaoran had fairly good hearing, so it wasn't difficult for him to make out what they were talking about. Apparently, the chunky one had a very strong opinion on boys and what they were for. He found himself blushing at his described 'uses' and unable to turn away. It seemed the smaller, dark-haired one had just gotten dumped or something and disagreed with her friend.

"Demo Ryaria, he told me he loved me," the dark hair girl protested. 

"Girl, you were stoned. Get over it. Speakin' of that shit, do you have anything on ya?" 

The other girl reached into her purse and out a small bottle. "Five bucks," she said to 'Ryaria'. 

"Aww, come on. We're friends." 

The dark girl shook her head. "That's cheap compared to what I usually pay for this stuff."

__

Okay, so now they're talking about drugs. Syaoran listened with interest. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but they really shouldn't talk so loudly. The waitress came out from behind the counter with Syaoran's food and he licked his lips in anticipation. 

The waitress was walking rather clumsily on her heeled shoes and bumped into the girl's table. Syaoran winced as his food almost landed on the girls' heads. The bottle of drugs flew out of the girl's hand and spilt over the wood floor, covering the space between Syaoran's and their table. " I'm so sorry! I'm such a klutz!" the waitress cried. "

It's alright," the small, honey-haired girl assured and bent down on all fours to retrieve the tiny pills that were so very important to her. She dug anxiously through the tiny cracks and managed to collect most of the drug.

The ditzy waitress, poor girl probably wasn't much older than himself, plunked the food down in front of Syaoran, obsuecuring his nosy vision for a moment. When she moved away, Syaoran found himself staring straight into the girl's beautiful jade eyes. "Sakura-chan?" he choked out. 

* * *

Ten minutes later Syaoran was back in his car but he wasn't alone. Back in the diner, Sakura had thrown her arms around him and they kissed right in front of everybody. For a few minutes, all he could do was hold her. She seemed so frail now, and he was afraid she was going to cry. Sakura had that annoying habit of starting to cry for no and any reason.

Syaoran had coerced her into coming back with him and because he didn't want to scare her away he didn't yell at her until the doors were safely locked. "What the hell were you doing out here, Sakura? You're _grounded._" 

Sakura kept her eyes low. She didn't have the energy to fight. "Me 'n 'touchan had a fight and I kinda took off." Sakura couldn't admit to her boyfriend that she cheated on him and prayed he wouldn't bring up the drugs.

Luck was not with Sakura today. "And what about those pills, Sakura-chan? Have you turned into a junkie on me, too?" 

"Gomen nasai, Syaoran-kun." 

"Damn, Sakura-chan. I just don't want you to get hurt. I love you and I don't like what you've been doing. Do you know how many times I had to watch you get hurt over the past six years. I want to _die_ every time you're in pain."

Sakura buried her face in her boyfriend's chest. "Don't be mad at me. It's not a big deal. I'm still me." 

Syaoran gently pushed her aside. "Not while I'm driving, Sakura-chan." He sighed. He didn't know what to do, what to think. He loved Sakura and didn't want to lose her, but he couldn't stand the way she was acting.

"Let's forget about, okay?" Syaoran gave in. "Let's all just be happy again. The trip is next week and that's when your grounding ends, right?" 

Sakura nodded. "Un, but I'll probably be grounded for the rest of my life after what I did. Ara, Syaoran I ran away! Otousan will kill me!" 

"Do you really think that, Sakura-chan? I hope you think more of your father than that."

* * *

They were both right to some extent. When Sakura walked into her home later that day, her dad ran up and hugged her. Not the reaction Sakura had expected. He spoke to her calmly, never once yelled or swore. He explained how much he loved her and that he wanted her to be happy. Sakura tried to explain that wanted to live her own life.

"Let's erase the past few months, okaykoishii?" Fujitaka asked. "You can go on your trip and I won't ground you more. But I won't take any more of this nonsense, okay?" 

Sakura kissed her head on the forehead. "Okay,'touchan."

"And the police called." Sakura's heart lurched at this. _Was she in trouble? _"You're to start your community service on Monday." 

Sakura produced a blank expression. "Community service?" 

"Shoplifting, _remember?"_

Sakura flushed and nodded. "But the tr-" 

"Hai. I told them about your trip and they agreed to let you start on Friday, when you get back."

"Arigato, 'touchan!" 

"Now, go wash up and help your Oniisan get supper ready." 

"Okiee!" Sakura bounced up and ran to the kitchen. 

Touya had seen the whole thing, and couldn't help but wonder at Sakura's huge mood swings. _Teenage girls are weird…_

* * *

The family enjoyed an unusually peaceful dinner. It was nice, like old times, not to have any fighting. Sakura chatted on about her school's dance, and how she was going to be accepted onto the cheerleading squad, while Touya complained about how difficult his classes were and how all the girls reminded him of either Kaho or Nakuru.

After supper, Sakura brought Kero up a piece of the chocolate cake they had for dessert. "Sakura-chan! You're back!" The little creature flew at her and wrapped his tiny little arms around her waist. "Where did you go? Why did you just take off? I was worried. Usually you tell me when you run away."

Sakura just smiled and held out the cake to him. Kero's eyes went wide and tore into the poor, defenseless cake. "Thanks, Sakura-chan! Oishii!" This kept Kero busy for several minutes, and soon he would forget about her disappearance. 

The phone rang and Sakura instinctively reached for it the one by her bed. Kero popped his head out of the treat long enough to shake his head and say, "nuhunh." Sakura sighed and turned on her music. She turned up the volume as loud as it would go and reached for a manga that was lying by her bed.

About ten minutes later someone banged on the door. "Okay! Okay!" Sakura yelled, reaching for the volume control. "I'll turn it down,Otousan." She turned down the music; hand still on the dial planning to turn it back up once her father had left.

Still the knocking continued. She sighed impatiently and opened the door. Her Fujitaka and Touya both stood there, looking grim faced. "Otousan? Onnichan? Nani? What is it? I turned down the music." 

"May we come in?"

"Of course." Sakura couldn't even begin to guess what the problem was but her the expression on their faces made her feel sick inside. She allowed them to sit her on the bed, one on either side of her. 

Fujitaka took Sakura's small hand in his own shaky one. "Sakura-chan, that was the hospital that just called. We told them to inform us if Mei-ling's condition changed. Sakura-chan…Mei-ling is dead."


	13. JYUSAN

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to the wonderful CLAMP.

_"For not one flower can be crushed without troubling a star."_

unknown __

How can Mei-ling be dead? Just like that? I mean, she was here one day and dead the next! 

"Sakura-chan?" Fujitaka asked with worry. "Are you alright?" 

Sakura blew up then. "Of course I'm not alright! One of my closest friends is dead and it's my fault!"

"Sakura-chan, calm down. It's not your fault." 

"Yes, it is!" Sakura sobbed, tough act all forgotten. 

Fujitak embraced his daughter and she buried her face in his shirt. "Sakura-chan, just because you happened to be there at the same time does not mean it's your fault." 

"You don't understand!"

Touya, who was watching silently, shook his head at his father. _Words won't comfort her now…_

Fujitaka sighed and nodded. Sakura lifted her head up and sniffled. "I've got to talk to Syaoran-kun, 'touchan. He must be really upset." 

"Are you sure you should-" 

"I've got to go," Sakura got up abruptly and left.

"Poor kaiju…" Touya mumbled. "Poor gaki too…"

* * * 

Sakura dug her long forgotten roller blades out of the garage and strapped them to her feet. The familiar pink plastic was great comfort to her, and brought back many childhood memories. Of times when Mei-ling was still around.

The sun was just beginning to set and the air had a cold bite to it. Sakura considered going in for her jacket, but there was a pressing urge to get to her boyfriend quickly. "What have I done?" Sakura muttered the whole way. "How came he ever forgive me for killing his cousin? Ara, I killed…"

"Iie, that's silly. I did _not _kill Mei-ling. I'm not responsible for Meling in any way whatsoever." Sakura believed that if she repeated this over often enough she might start to believe it. But no matter what, the guilt just wouldn't go away.

She reached Syaoran's apartment and ran up the steps without removing her skates. There was no time for that. She pressed the bell over and over until a somber boy opened the door.

"Come in, Sakura-chan," he whispered. Sakura studied his face closely. He didn't seem angry, that was good. Was he sad? She didn't want him to be sad, but it would be better than the resentment she feared. There was nothing on Syaoran's face. No emotion at all. Of course, he had never been one for showing people how he felt.

A fire burned in the otherwise dark living room. The two sat in silence on the tatami rug, until noticed a small tear seep from her boyfriend's eye and she could no longer resist the urge to throw her arms around him. "Ara, Syaoran-kun! I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry!"

Syaoran stroked her hair. "It's not your fault, how many times do we have to tell you that? Would you feel better if I said it _was _your fault?" He choked back a sob and said," I'm glad you aren't dead too. I loved Mei-ling, not the way I love you, but I will miss her."

He laid her head against his shoulder and stared thoughtfully at a portrait that hung above the fireplace. "I feel so bad sometimes, like I let her down. That I couldn't be what she wanted. I couldn't give her what she wanted. It hurts to think she might've died without really knowing love." 

Sakura knew what he meant. _Like Tomoyo. I can't be what Tomoyo wants either._

"I'm sure she felt love, Syaoran-kun. She was surrounded by love and just never realized it." 

"She had a boyfriend back home in Hong Kong, but she was never very happy with him. She told me she still loved me. My poor cousin, so desperate for love."

"I'm sure Mei-ling is happy now, wherever she is. We have to believe that." Sakura tried to console her boyfriend. "What disgusts me is that she died such a pointless death. So quick, so unpredictable, so…" Sakura looked for a word, but could find none. 

"Stupid?" Syaoran supplied the word bitterly. "I suppose. The stupid ones were the drunk kids who plowed into us. You know, she never wanted to die that way. She said she was a warrior and would die a warrior. My brave, stoic, silly cousin."

Syaoran gazed up at the portrait again. Sakura caught his look, and searched for what had grabbed his attention so intensely. _A family portrait. A young Chinese man and woman. Rather stern looking. A little boy with wavy brown hair, soft hazel eyes, and a hard stare. He was so familiar. Four teenage girls, quite pretty and laughing merrily. And a little girl, her hand clasped tightly around the little boy's. _Sakura liked how the artist had captured the little girl's desire to hold onto the boy. _The girl had long silky black hair and large amber eyes, just like the boy's. Her sweet mouth was twisted in a mischievous grin. They were all adorned in traditional Chinese garments._

"Syaoran-kun, is that…?" 

Syaoran nodded wryly. "That was painted when Mei-ling and I were four. I love that portrait and take it with me always. It symbolizes who my family is. Not as the Li clan, but just us. My parent's aren't as stern as they seem in that." 

"Why is Mei-ling in the portrait?" 

Syaoran laughed harshly. " She is my family, too. She happened to be visiting with us that day. We hadn't planned on the artist showing up. Mei-ling's family had never had a portrait done, and she insisted she been in ours. She had a huge temper tantrum."

Syaoran smiled, remembering the day fondly. "She kept shouting, 'Mei-ling-chan family too!' My parents finally agreed to let her in too, and I'm glad. She makes the picture complete, don't you think so, Sakura-chan?" 

Sakura nodded absently, her mind lost in the past. "When's the funeral?" 

"There won't be one. Not here at least. The hospital…is sending her body…back to Hong Kong. The Li clan will probably have a service for her there. I doubt it will be very elaborate though, just a little thing." 

"Why's that?" 

"I think you know why, Sakura-chan. They didn't honour Mei-ling much. Because she didn't have any magic and she wasn't a boy." 

"She tried so hard though…" 

"Hai, Sakura-chan. She did. Mei-ling was amazing. She had a real future ahead of her."

"Was all her life for nothing then?" Sakura asked, her eyes welling up with tears. S

yaoran grabbed her fiercely. "Never say that, Sakura-chan! Mei-ling had a huge impact on all our lives. Perhaps even her death has a purpose. Maybe it'll save you." 

They stayed up late into the night, talking about Mei-ling and the purpose of live. That each life has meaning and we all connect to each other, and we all have such an impact on each other. Neither had thought so deeply before in their lives, but Sakura decided it was nice. _Is this what it's like to grow up? Is Mei-ling helping me to grow up?_

Sakura had fallen asleep in Syaoran's arms, feeling more safe and content than she had ever felt before. The fire cast a rosy glow over the dark room and a soft rain beat against the windows. Their tears forgotten, they slept. And when they awoke they were both lying naked in Syaoran's bed. 

Neither could remember how they got from the couch to the bed, but they both remembered it was wonderful. Sakura felt a pang of regret and sadness knowing this was not her first time. This was supposed to be something special. Syaoran and her had promised each other they would both be the first. That it would be different, wonderful for them. Sakura had wanted sex to have meaning, importance. _Love…_She felt no love for the other guys she had screwed.

"Am I such a slut?" She asked herself. "So that Syaoran could seem like just another guy?" Oh, it had been fun. Sakura had been filled with love, but it wasn't special. Not like she had expected it to be. She wondered briefly if Syaoran was disappointed.

Syaoran was still in deep slumber and Sakura having no common courtesy, took it into her own hands to wake him up. "Hey, Syaoran-kun!" She yelled in his ear. "Wake up!!!!!!!!!!" Syaoran shoot straight up and looked around frantically. When he realized he was in his own bed, with only his nutty girlfriend beside him he relaxed.

Beside him…His eyes widened and a blush spread over his face. "Sakura-chan?" 

"Yep! Ohayo, Syaoran-kun!" She leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you. Aishiteru." 

He pushed her away gently and Sakura pouted. 

"Eeto, say it!" 

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Aishiteru, Sakura-chan." 

Sakura giggled. "Okay! I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I love you more."

"This is sickening."

"Say it!"

"I love you most."

They lay under heavy blankets together, lost in the moment. "Sakura-chan…" Syaoran suddenly whispered. "We could have a portrait too?" 

"Hoe?" Sakura's eyes widened at this. "We could get married and have our little children and we can have a portrait and a little cousin can be in it…"

Tears built up in his eyes then and Sakura didn't know if he really meant it. As far off as it was, she hoped it was true. "Syaoran-kun?" She asked gently. 

He smiled at her and wiped the tears away. "Aishiteru, Sakura-chan.. I mean it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We can have a life…"

Sakura suddenly felt suffocated. She slipped out of the large bed, white sheets wrapped around her body. She found her clothes in a pile by the bed and quickly slipped them on. Looking out at the rain, she wished she had more than a short summer dress on.

"I better go. Otousan will be worried about me. I'll talk to you later, okay? But I really got to go." Sakura quickly left, knowing it was cruel of her to leave him alone in his grief. But she just couldn't stay. She had to think on her own for a while. Too much was happening to quickly…She quickly pulled on her roller blades and skated away. Lost in thought, she crashed and landed hard on the pavement, for the first time since she was nine years old.

* * *

Sakura arrived home, late because she skinned her knee and it hurt to skate. "Gomen nasai, Otousan," she apologized to her father, who wasn't really angry. 

"I know Li-san needed you, Sakura-chan," Fujitaka smiled. "But all you did was talk, right?" 

Sakura was quick to reassure him that nothing happened. _After all I've done, he still has such trust in me!_

Touya, on the other hand, was a lot more skeptical. "Did you have fun?" Was the first thing he asked her. 
She glared at him. "How can you say that? Someone dies and it's supposed to be fun?" 
Touya rolled his at her and joined her at the table for some Oreo cookies. "Come on, imouto-chan. You spend the night at your boyfriend's house and come home looking a little ruffled. You were supposedly "comforting him."
"I can't believe you!" 
"Don't lie to me, kaijuu!" 
Sakura glared into her glass of chocolate milk. "It's not really any of your business." 
"Ah-ha! So it did happen!" 
Touya turned serious as he tried to think of a way to breach this matter to his sister. "Um…kaijuu...did you use, um…protection?" 
"Hoe?" Sakura paused in mid cookie dunk. 
"Hai, condoms." Touya didn't know why he was having such a hard time talking to her about this. He was older than her, maybe it was because she was a girl.
"Shit!" 
Touya eyebrows went up. "I know what you've been up to, Sakura-chan. Has anything occurred to you yet?" 
Sakura shrugged helplessly. "I didn't think." 
"You didn't _think_!?" 
"I'm okay,oniichan! I'm safe." 
"So you've been sleepin' around and you didn't even…slut," he whispered. 
Sakura turned white. "What did you call me!?"
"A slut. That's what you are, Sakura. You're my kid sister and I love you, but you are sure screwed up." Touya downed his glass of milk and left. 
Sakura sat there alone, contemplating what her older brother had said. _How could I have been so stupid!? _She was suddenly very afraid. Feeling dirty, she went upstairs to take a shower.
* * *
Fujitaja offered to let Sakura take a few days off school, to collect herself, but Sakura felt she just couldn't stay home. She had to get back to a place that was normal. Somewhere she could forget everything.
__And the trip is in two days! Sakura was excited, she couldn't sleep. Miyuko and her gang were like always. They saw that Sakura was depressed and confused and offered her presents of consolation. During their spare that afternoon, Miyuko showed Sakura some heroin. "You'll love this," she promised. "This stuff is the best!"
    Sakura remembered Syaoran, and his opinion on drugs. Could she give it all up for him? She saw the needle and grimaced. 
    "Hey, don't worry," a blond girl reassured Sakura. "It barely hurts and the high is instant." 
    "Shouldn't we do this somewhere else?" Sakura looked nervously around the parking a lot. "I don't want to get suspended with the trip so soon."
"Hey, don't worry about it. Everything's great." 
"I don't know how to inject the needle," Sakura admitted as she watched the others shoot. 
"Hey, it's okay," Sakia said. "I'll do it for you. It's really simple."
    As she showed Sakura the proper vein to use and how much to use, etc, Sakura felt a strange bond with these girls. They weren't junkies. They were just a bunch of lost children trying to find their way. And when they were high, they were above everyone else. They knew all, saw all. And they couldn't understand what evil the squares saw. 
Heroin was the best thing Sakura ever had. It was like…freedom. Was that even the right word? Is there a word to describe it? It was even better than her first high, so long ago. Heroin took away everything. Took away Mei-ling's death, the sex, the pain and loneliness.
    When they came back down, Miyuko told Sakura of a new dealer, where she could get anything she wanted for fairly cheap prices.
Happier than she'd been in a long time, Sakura returned to classes and later returned home. That night at dinner, Touya announced him and Yukito would have to return to the university the next day. Sakura was horrified at this. She hadn't got to spend any time with Yukito since that day she was hungover after her first party.
    "Oh, my god!" Yukito was going to leave and it might be years before she saw him again! 
    "What is it, kaiju?" Touya stared at her suspiciously. 
    "Don't tell me you want me to stay? I have to go see Yukito-san!" With that, Sakura jumped up from her place and ran over to Yukito's house. 
    "That was rude," Touya muttered. 
    Fujitaka smiled and said, "She has to go."
* * *
    Sakura had a lovely time with her childhood crush. They had tea and cookies and sat and talked for hours. It was nice to have such light talk after her conversation with Syaoran the night before.
It was late when Sakura left, filled with joy. On her way home, she passed an old building where some kids were hanging around. Sakura would've walked right by, except a girl's voice called out. "Sakura-chan?" It was Admie, Miyuko, and some other kids from school. Sakura couldn't help but think they were showing up everywhere and replacing her old friends.
    "Hi!" Sakura called warily. "What's up?" She jogged over to them. 
    The kids held up a bunch of aerosol cans. "We're making pretty pictures. Do you want to help?" Sakura would've declined, gone home, like she should've done. 
    But then Miyuko spoke. "You've been hurt, haven't you, Sakura? You feel the rage?"
That was true. Sakura felt a lot of rage. 
"Don't you want to express yourself? Tell everyone?" 
Sakura grabbed a pink can from Miyuko and marched up to the wall. Everyone grinned and sprayed away.
    It wasn't until the morning that Sakura could truly admire their artwork. Smiling at them from the large brick building was a beautiful Chinese girl. And next to the other kid's peace signs she had wrote 'RIP Mei-ling-chan.'


	14. JYUSHI

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. It belongs to CLAMP and Kodansha and maybe some other people. Happy?

Sakura went to America, just like she always knew she would. It was very different from Japan in some ways, and at the same time, disappointingly the same. Being in another country with all her friends-new and old-should've been the highlight of her high school life but somehow she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it.

She had to get up early on Friday morning, about five o'clock, because it takes a long time to get there. Syaoran picked her up at her house and they drove to the school were a bus was waiting to take them to the airport. 

Sakura's new friends weren't on the trip so she was able to sit in peace with Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, Yamazaki, Tomoyo and Syaoran. They laughed and talked and teased each other and it painfully felt like ages since they had last been that way. Sakura pretended to smile but on the inside nuasea was welling up.

They boarded the plane and paired up for seats. Sakura and Syaoran sat together. Sakura begged to have the window sit because she had never flown before but really she wanted to press her face against the cool glass. The plane was much too hot and stuffy. 

"Daijobu, Sakura-chan?" Rika leaned her seat to get a better view of her friend who was turning a pale shade of green. 

"Hai."

Sakura spent most of the flight staring out the window and gave no more than occasional mono-syllable answers to her friends. She fell asleep and Syaoran had to shake her hard before she realized the stewardess was there with the food.

"Ara, lunch! I'm starved!" 

"Sakura-chan, airplane food is gross. I don't think you should eat any of it." 

"Lasagne today!" the stewardess announced and plunked two indentical trays down in front of Sakura and Syaoran. "And what would you like to drink?"

"Coke, please."

"_Diet _Pepsi, please," Sakura stressed.

Everyone made faces and just drank their sodas, but Sakura dug right in. "Sakura-chan, I thought you didn't like lasagne?" Syaoran asked, looking a little concerned. 

"Hoe?Ara, eeto, I do now." When Sakura had finished her lasagne, she ate her peanuts and a large chocolate bar.

__

I don't feel very good, she thought when she was done. _What am I doing? I'll get fat! And I feel so sick!_ Her stomach lurched and she groped in the seat before her for the barf bag. 

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked with wide eyes. Syaoran, though he was grossed out, put an arm around Sakura as she was sick, holding her long hair away from her mouth.

Feeling horrible, the painful puking finally subsided and Sakura set the bag down. Smiling weakly at her friends, she said, "I don't feel very well." 

"Is it air sickness?" Naoko asked. 

Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so." 

"You know," Yamazaki started. "Thousands of years ago, people with airsi-" 

"Not now, Yamazaki-kun!" Chiharu cut him off with a bonk on the head.

"I'm going to the washroom," Sakura pushed her way though the narrow aisle to the tiny bathroom. Even through the cracked mirror, she could tell she looked horrible. Dark circles rimmed her eyes and her pale face was a little green. "What's wrong with me?" she asked aloud. Feeling her forehead, she determined she didn't have a temperature. "It's not the flu. It's just my stomach."

Sakura felt a little queasy for the rest of the trip, but by the time they landed in New York City, she felt pretty good. Except for short little spells every now and then, the rest of the day went fine. Every morning she woke up with a stomache ache, but it always went away by noon.

The trip was great. They went all over the country, visiting all the sites. Though they all liked America, most of them had to admit they liked Japan better. There was something so crude about America. Tomoyo had her camcorder out and her camera and Sakura thought it was amazing she didn't crash into anything with those in front of her face the whole time.

Sakura bought lots of little souvenirs for her friends who didn't come, her family, and herself. For Kero she bought a huge chocolate bar coated in smarties. She got a cute little handbag for Miyuko, some funky earrings for Admie, and a little flag for the other girls. She had a tough time picking something out for her father and Touya, but eventually did find the right thing. And she bought something for herself in almost every store she went to.

Sakura and her friends had to laugh when they went into an anime store at the mall. It was funny to see their favorite mangas written in English. It just didn't look right. And the Sailor Moon dolls were so ugly. Chiharu, giggling, pointed out a fan book that listed the characters for an anime. "Why did they change the names?" Tomoyo asked. "What kind of name is 'Madison?'"

"The Americans screwed all this up a bit," Rika said, "but it's nice people like part of our culture so much!" 

"Yep, we're pretty popular." 

As they were leaving, a strange yellow stuffed animal that looked an awful lot like Kero-chan caught Sakura's eye and she couldn't help but buy it. 

"I can't wait to see Kero's reaction when you show him that," Tomoyo giggled in a hushed voice so the other girls wouldn't hear.

A week later they headed home, all of their American money used up. Sakura threw up again, this time on a stewardess. "What's wrong with you, Sakura-chan?" Syaoran asked, feeling Sakura's forehead. 

"I don't know." 

"She must've had to many McFlurries in the airport," Rika suggested. 

Syaoran looked at Sakura suspiciously and it was as if he could read her mind. He was thinking just what she was dreading most.

* * *

Kero loved the chocolate Sakura bought him. He devoured it all in a minute, except for one tiny piece, which he offered to her. Sakura was lying on her bed, stomach upset again. 

"Iie, arigato, Kero-chan." 

"Daijoubu?" 

"Hai, I'm fine." 

Kero shrugged and popped the last piece into that huge mouth of his.

He went searching through her backpack to see if she brought anymore sweets and discovered the plushie toy. "And just what is _this_?" Sakura giggled. 

"Kero-chan, when Tomoyo comes over, do that again okay? She wants to catch it on tape." 

Kero scowled. "Is this supposed to be me?"

"I don't know. I saw it in 'Otakus R Us' and I just had to buy it. Quite a resemblance, huh?" 

"Masaka! I'm way cuter than that…that…_nuiguriumi_!" 

"I like it," Sakura said and closed her eyes. 

"Eeto, I don't!" 

"It doesn't matter what you think, Kero-chan…" Sakura mumbled and drifted into sleep.

* * *

"Aww, thanks Sakura-chan!" Miyuko and Admie threw their arms around Sakura on Monday morning when she gave them their presents. The other girls waved their little flags around, giggling. "I wanted to America too," Miyuko muttered. "But the principal said my GPA is too low," she made a face and everyone laughed. 

As cool as Sakura's new friends were, bit by bit she was starting to like them less. What happened that afternoon was the last straw. Miyuko convinced Sakura try some smack with them, it was a new thing for everyone, and they got really high. They wondered about stupidly downtown for an hour or so before they got bored. They felt like they were superheroes, on top of the world, they had so much energy, and all they could do was laugh at traffic.

Sakia heard a soft 'mew' behind her and slowly turned around to see a tiny grey kitten creep behind a garbage can. "Hey minna!" she yelled. "I found a new plaything!" T

he girls gathered around the terrified cat and laughed. Miyuko grabbed it's tail and held it over their heads. The little creature scratched at them and hissed, but this didn't bother them. Admie licked one scratch along her arm and smiled.

"What are you going to do with it?" Sakura asked, not really able to think, just mumbling out words in a dim curiosity. 

Miyuko grinned. "What do you think we should do, Sakura-chan? You can pick if you like." 

If Sakura had been thinking straight, she would never have gone along with this. Sweet Sakura would never be cruel to an animal. Unfourtunly she was being controlled by drugs right now, and the good in her had no say in the matter. A grin slowly slid on her face and she whispered her plan to her friends.

They brought the cat into the worse part of the city, where it would be easiest. "Start a fire," Admie ordered Sakura. 

Sakura giggled and pulled out the Fiery card. She commanded it to start a fire on a couple of bricks lying nearby. 

The other girls were too out of it to really notice what Sakura had done. "Cool!" They said and forgot about it.

A few hours later, the dead cat was ripped in shreds, bloody and torn. The girls took a sadistic amusement in this and howled with laughter as they strapped the little body to a pole. Admie stuck the pole upright in the blazing fire and they burned the cat. A horrible stench filled the air as its fur dripped off it in little puddles. When the body began to turn to ash, Sakia ripped a paw off it and nibbled. "Not bad!" In turn, each girl took a bite, Sakura too.

The girl's left to wreck havoc on some other poor, unsuspecting victim. And when they came back down, they didn't really remember or even care what they had done on their trip. But Sakura knew. It broke her hurt to realize what she'd done. _What's wrong with me? I tortured and eat a cat!_ Feeling sick, she told the girls she was going home. Yet, she visited Seiji and bought some new drugs from him on her way home.

* * *

After school, Sakura was supposed to start her community service. _It's funny. The day Tomoyo and I were caught shoplifting seems so long ago. I've changed so much since then._ Sakura was told she was supposed to help out at the animal shelter, cleaning cages, feeding the animals, walking, etc. "Not exactly how I wanted to spend all my free time," Sakura grumbled.

Once again she brought out her old pink roller blades, relishing in the fact they still fit her. She brought her runners in a bag and changed when she got there. Opening the screen door of the little brick building, she was greeted to loud barking, chirping, and scratching. Already annoyed with this job, she searched for her boss.

A plump middle-aged woman introduced herself as Mizuno Yuimino. "Mizuno-sama to you." 

Sakura could tell Mizuno-san didn't like her very much. _I guess juvenile delinquents aren't very nice to work with. She must get tired of people like me who don't want to be here._ Mizuno-san put her right to work, cleaning the dog pens. Sakura made a face and got out the pooper-scooper thingy.

She normally liked animals, but by the end of the day she couldn't wait to get away. "My boss is from hell, the animals gave me a headache, and the work is disgusting," Sakura later told Tomoyo on the phone. Tomoyo clucked sympathetically but Sakura knew she was holding back a grin. "You're so lucky, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura complained. "You're mother gets you out of everything!" 

"That's not true, Sakura-chan." Sakura couldn't help but think Tomoyo sounded a little sad.

* * *

Fujitaka had taken a day off to accomplish some work at home. He had a complex lecture to plan that he needed silence for. After spending hours typing madly away at his computer he decided to take a break and start on some spring cleaning. As her passed by his desk, he caught his wife's smiling face. He picked up the photo and brushed his hand over it tenderly. "Oh, Nadeshiko. How I wish you were here. Your daughter is growing up to be as beautiful as you are, but I'm worried about her. If you were here, Sakura would be okay. I know it."

He set the photo down and started to vacuum. When he was doing his daughter's room, he noticed a strange odour. "Nani? One of Sakura's perfumes?" But it didn't smell like perfume. It sort of smelt like chlorine, though he didn't know where that idea came from. "Has Sakura been swimming?" Curiously, without any respect for Sakura's private property, he opened the drawer where the smell came from.

He sniffed. It wasn't a bad smell; it was almost nice, though it made him a little dizzy. He poked through Sakura's little toys and papers until he came across a small brown bottle. He peered at the label, trying to figure out what it was. "Oh, my God…"


	15. JYUGO

****

Sakura Falls

By: Sorano

Chapter Fifteen 

Disclaimer: CCS doesn't belong to me, never has, never will. **Sob**. CCS belongs to the talented CLAMP and Kodansha.

A/N: There! The last chapter! You'll have to wait a couple weeks for the sequel 'cause I'm going to Wonderland!!!!!!!!!!! Yipee!! **does nutty little dance**. Gomen minna , I'm just excited. 

Something was wrong. Months and months were slipping by without Sakura getting her period. "Could Oniichan have been right? I was pretty stupid." Fear was beginning to fill her; it was easy enough to guess what was coming. "Masaka, masaka. It can't be. Sakura get a grip!" She refused to believe it. There was no way it could be true. But…

__

I have to know. It's worse not knowing. Sakura stepped into the bathroom and brought out a small package she'd purchased at the drugstore the previous day. It cost half of her allowance too. "Now…how do I do this?" She flipped the box over on its side, trying to find some directions. The whole absurdity of it hit her then- that she, not quite sixteen, was trying to figure out a pregnancy test. 

Giggling, she squinted to read the small print directions. "Let's see…Hoeee? Okay, well I guess this won't be too difficult."

A little while later she had the finished test in her hand and was waiting for the results to show up. "Come on…" Sakura thought she was going to go insane. _What will I do if it's positive? I just can't be pregnant! _Slowly the little shape formed and Sakura's heart skipped a beat. She bit her lip in horror as the dot changed colour. She leaned back against the counter and started to cry.

* * *

Fujitaka hesitated a moment before knocking on the bathroom door. He wasn't quite sure how to approach this topic with his daughter. "Sakura-chan?" He reached out and rapped on the door gently. "I busy, Otousan!" A hoarse voice yelled. 

"Sakura-chan, this is important." _What's she doing in there? She's been in the bathroom for over an hour._

He could hear sniffling and shuffling from inside. There was a loud crash and Sakura let out a yelp. "Daijobu, Sakura-chan?" 

"I'm okay." The door was opened and Fujitaka peered at the pale girl. Her eyes were red-rimmed (from crying?), and he could make out faint tearstains running down her cheeks. He decided against mentioning this. 

"We have to talk, Sakura-chan." She looked very frightened all of a sudden. "I'm really busy right now, Otousan. Can't it wait?" 

"Iie, Sakura-chan," he said firmly, guiding her to the living room. "This cannot wait." She sat down in the middle of the large leather couch, and he sat on a stiff chair opposite her. This reminded the both of a courtroom somehow. "Sakura-chan, why do you look like you want to run away? Do you have a reason to be in trouble?"

Sakura gulped, utterly miserable. "Do I, 'touchan?" she asked softly. 

Fujitaka tossed a small container at her and she reached her hand up in the air and caught it. "Oh no…" It only took her two seconds to realize what the container was. Her precious bottle of ecstasy. Green eyes met brown eyes, both unsure what emotion they saw.

"Can you explain this, Sakura-chan?" Her father's voice was calm, controlled, yet somewhat strained. 

"Eeto, you see, 'touchan, th-" her voice faltered and she was silent. 

"Do you know what those are?" Fujitaka asked her. 

"Hai." 

"Are they yours?" 

__

Could she lie her way out of this one? Would she give up this easily? Succumb to the squares? Mind to clouded to think clearly, she gave a little nod. 

Fujitaka sighed. "I am extremely disappointed in you, Sakura-chan. I thought I taught you better than this." He got up and paced the room. "Why? What did this to you?"

__

Now what can I say? How do I get myself out of this one? Sakura popped the lid and picked up one of the large colorful pills. "Look, 'touchan, isn't it pretty?" She held it out for him to see. It was a soft pink, grainy, and had a happy face imprinted upon it. "These are the cheaper ones," Sakura said. "They come in all kinds of designs."

Her father angrily knocked the bottle from her hand and the little happy faces spilt across the floor. "Now look what you've done!" Sakura cried, bending to scoop them up. "These cost me a good thirty dollars!" 

"Listen to me, Sakura-chan! You have to stop this!" He sat next to her on the couch. "Something terrible has happened to you these past few months. Your grades are dangerously low, you're never home, getting in trouble with the police, sneaking out, bad language, bad attitude, and now these _drugs_?" _You don't know the half of it_, Sakura smirked._ Just wait until you find out I pregnant 'touchan!._

Sakura started to giggle. _Ojiisan!_

"Nothing is funny here, Sakura-chan." _I can't punish her,_ Fujiaka thought desperately. _She needs help. Support, not anger. _

"Ara, I think it's hilarious," Sakura giggled and popped one of the XTCs into her mouth. _How can I get through to her?_

"You can get help, Sakura-chan. They're people who can help you!"

"Ano, you mean rehab? No way! Listen, 'touchan, I've got better things to do, okay? I'll see you later." As she was opening the front door, she muttered under her breath, "This is getting a little old. I need to find a new way of leaving."

Fujitaka heard the front door slam and put his head in his hands. "That went well…" _She won't listen to me. She can only get help when she wants it. Maybe she'll listen to someone else. Her friends maybe?_ He reached for the phone book and looked up drug help numbers.

* * *

Sakura had been looking for an escape when she left, but she soon discovered that was impossible. "Sakura-chan, wait up!" Coming through the cherry blossoms was Tomoyo, and behind her was Chiharu, Yamazaki, Rika, and Naoko.

Sakura sighed and waited for her friends to catch up.

"Sakura-chan?" Rika looked a little sad as they walked along and talked. "What's wrong with you? I want to know. You've been so different lately. And you've been distancing yourself from us." 

Sakura shrugged and kicked a stone impatiently. "People change. Friends change. That's life."

Her friends looked like she had slammed a door in their faces. "Sakura-chan?" Naoko stuttered, unsure of what she was witnessing. "But you promised. We all said we would be friends forever." 

Tomoyo decided she couldn't take any more of this and firmly grabbed Sakura's arm. "Come on, Sakura-chan. We're going to talk." 

Sakura tried to wrench away, but it was no use. "I don't want to talk! I want to go to a party!" 

"I think you've had enough parties, Sakura-chan."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but sat down on a park bench with them. "So…what did you want to talk about?" She plastered on a cheery smile. 

"You know damn well. What's going on?" 

"Nothing is going on!" 

"Sakura-chan, we know about your drug addiction." 

"Yeah? So what? Do you want some? I have some love with me now." 

"Don't you understand? We _care _about you! Or can you not comprehend that word anymore? We want the old Sakura back." 

"She's dead. As dead as Mei-ling. As dead as my mother," Sakura spoke sullenly, glaring at the girls surrounding her. 

"How can you _say_ that?!"

Suddenly Tomoyo started to cry and Rika sniffled a little. "Sakura-chan, you're my best friend! I don't want to lose you." 

"Lose me? I'm not going anywhere." "

You'll die! Don't you know what drugs can do?"

"I'm not going to die. That's the point. I'm more alive now than I ever was." 

"And that's another thing. How can you be such a bitch now? Sweet Sakura," Chiharu hissed.

"_Excuse _me? Bitch? You're the ones who are fucking interrogating me1" 

"And what about poor Li-san? He loves you and you're going off screwing other guys!" 

Sakura's eyes turned hard and she stood up. "I don't have to hear this." She got no more than a few feet before her friends gently pushed her back down.

"We aren't accusing you, Sakura-chan. We're just trying to help you." 

"I don't want nor need your help." 

"Eeto, we think you do." 

"What do you know? You don't know anything about me!" Sakura was on the verge of tears and her voice screeched. "Oh, God, oh God, oh God." Sakura bent down and wrapped her arms around herself. 

Tomoyo inched over next to her and hugged her gently. "Sakura-chan…It's okay." 

"Iie …" Sakura's body shook with sobs. "Iie, it isn't okay. It'll never be okay." 

"We'll get you help. Things can change." 

Sakura shook her head. "Iie. I'm pregnant…"

"You're WHAT?" This was a male voice, coming from in front of the girls. Sakura looked up to see her boyfriend's harsh amber eyes peering down at her. 

"I'm…I'm…pregnant." 

"Ara, shimatta. Sakura!"

Confusion filled Syaoran. He didn't know what to think. He was angry with his girlfriend. But why? Who's the father? _Is it me?_ Poor Sakura, what must she be going through now? But…

Syaoran spoke through tightly clenched teeth as he demanded who the father was. 

Sakura crumpled against Tomoyo, wailing, "I don't know!" 

"How can you not know? Exactly how many guys have you been having sex with?" Sakura reddened. 

"A few. I have no idea who it is." 

Syaoran swore rapidly in Chinese, horrifying the girls with the sting in his words. Eventually he calmed down and noticed his girlfriend was crying. "It's okay, Sakura-chan." He pushed Naoko aside and kissed his girlfriend. "Things will be alright. You can get help with this drug thing, and we can deal with the baby and…" Syaoran's voice trailed off, for in truth he had no idea how to help his little cherry blossom.

* * *

A very emotional Sakura hugged her friends and thanked them before heading home. Fujitaka tried to pretend their previous conversation never happened, but Sakura insisted on talking. They sat on the couch, this time beside each other.

"Otousan …" Sakura gulped, not quite sure where to begin. _How does a fifteen year old girl tell her dad she's going to have a baby? This is so wrong!_

"Hai, koishii?" 

"ImpregntanImrellysorybutIcanthelpit." She rushed the words out, afraid of her father's reaction. 

Fujitaka wrinkled his brow and smiled encouragingly at her. "Can you repeat that, Sakura-chan? I'm not sure I understood you."

"'touchan, I'm pregnant." 

Fujitaka turned white, but didn't say anything. 

"Gomen nasai, 'touchan." 

"How did this happen?" 

"'touchan, you should know _that_ by now." 

"Who is it?" His voice was horse and cracking. 

Sakura bit her lip. Here was the hardest part. "I'm not sure."

"I can't believe this. You're only fifteen." 

"I'm almost sixteen." 

"That's still to young. You're still in high school. You're a drug addict." 

Sakura was silently. Fujitaka had summed up the situation pretty well.

"What are you going to do? You can't keep the baby." 

"I have to, 'touchan. It's mine." 

"There's abortion. Or adoption." _In one ear, and out the other._

"'touchan, you aren't listening! I can't give up my baby. And abortion? That's just cruel. I refuse to do that."

Without another word, Fujitaka suddenly stood and walked out of the room. Sakura sat dumbfounded, then burst into tears. She lay there for an hour, crying into the silk throw pillow Syaoran had brought from China.

* * *

The next day, Syaoran accompanied Sakura to the hospital where she wanted to get some tests done. He had sworn to her that no matter who the father was, he'd stay with her no matter what. "I love you, Sakura-chan. I know you've made some mistakes but I have a feeling things are going to change soon."

Sakura went to talk with a doctor and Syaoran waited outside. A middle-aged man raised his eyes at him questioningly. "That your girlfriend, lad?" 

"Hai." 

"She ain't pregnant, now is she?" 

"I don't really think that's any of your business." 

"Are you the father?" 

"Maybe." 

The man whistled, smirking slightly. "You kids today. It's sad, really."

Syaoran picked up a magazine and tried to ignore the man. _Sakura is going to have deal with this the rest of her life. She'll be taunted by her peers and shunned by her family. Meanwhile that bastard that got her pregnant gets off free._

Inside the doctor's room, a sympathetic young doctor was talking with Sakura. "See darling, you've realized what a mistake you've made, right?" 

"Yes, I know." 

"Being pregnant is going to be very difficult for you." A nurse came into the room and handed the doctor some papers.

"Okay, we've got your results back. You definitely are pregnant, if you weren't sure. Those self-tests aren't very reliable. The baby appears to be fine, healthy, and in the right position. I'm guessing it should be due around late March. Hai, hon, _next_ March." 

Sakura smiled softly. "Wouldn't it be funny if it was born on Mei-ling's birthday?" 

"Who's Mei-ling? The father?" 

"Oh, no. She's just a friend of mine…"

* * *

"Un, I am kind of excited now," Sakura told Tomoyo on the phone. "I mean, a little girl or boy all of mine own." 

"Iie, I don't know the gender. I wanted it to be a surprise. Because it's my first. Too bad. You like it so much, why don't you just make some for a boy or girl? Yep. I'll tell him or her that their clothes came from Auntie Tomoyo. You bet I'm going to call you that. And you'll like it too. Think about me. I have to deal with being called 'mama.'

"Hoe? No. Well what do you want me to do? I _know _drugs and smoking are harmful to my baby. You don't understand, Tomoyo-chan. I can't live without them. No way am I going to rehab. Iie, I don't know yet. I'm going in for more tests tomorrow. A DNA test and a STD test. That's something I should've done long ago."

Sakura giggled at Tomoyo's next sentence. "Yeah, I told him. He was sure surprised that his imouto would have a child before him. I think he fainted or something when I told him. There was a loud 'thunk' and then I heard Yukito calling his name over and over."

"Yep, he took it pretty well. He thinks it's wonderful I'm going to be a mommy. He asked if he could be the godfather. Isn't Yukito sweet? Yeah, who would've known? Iie, Syaoran isn't like that. I know. I'm glad, too. Look, I've got to go. I'll talk to you in school tomorrow, okay? Sayonara." 

* * *

"There's a rave being held at that new club downtown tonight," Miyuko said the next morning. 

"I don't think I'll go," Sakura said, wondering if this was the right choice. 

"Nani? You have to go. It won't be any fun without you." 

Sakura started spending less and less time with Miyuko's crowd, finding them not quite the friends she saw them to be. The cat episode still had her grossed out and Miyuko and them weren't very nice people. _It's pathetic. They think they're so cool, but they need to chemicals to be that way or they'd be sniveling babies._ Sakura was shocked by this. _Isn't that just like me? I really am a pathetic drug addict!_

Admie passed Sakura a note in science class. Looking to see if the teacher was looking, Sakura slowly unfolded the strawberry scented paper. _Cherry girl- _it said. _What's up? You seem different lately. You haven't gone tripping with us in a long time. You aren't turning square on us are you? You're part of us now, Sakura. Drugs are everything. We rule. PLUR, remember? It's all good, Sakura-chan. So we have to know. Are you one of us? Are you abandoning us? Let's talk at lunch, k? –Cute lil' junkie, Admie P.S: Want me to pierce your bellybutton for you? I got a great new needle yesterday._

Sakura's mind was racing. What should she do? _Do I really want to be friends with them? They're ruining my life! But I love it all so much! How can I give it up?_ Suddenly Sakura knew what she had to do. For her family, for her Syaoran, for her baby, and for herself. She pulled a sheet of loose-leaf from her notebook and wrote one line- _No talk. I actually have a life. Maybe I'll see you guys around. _She crumpled it up, set it on the floor, and kicked it over to Admie.

Admie scowled and tossed the note to Miyuko who gave Sakura the finger. Sakura grinned and waved. 

* * *

Later that day Sakura went to the hospital to get those tests done. "Well, Kinomoto-san," a nurse said brightly. "You sure are lucky. Both you and the baby are perfectly healthy. But if anything, _anything_, comes up make sure to let us know."

Sakura also had a DNA test done, which proved inconclusive. "It would help if you could bring in all of the guys you've had sexual intercourse with in the past few months." 

"ALL of them?" 

The doctor raised his eyebrows. "Is there that many?" 

Sakura blushed, ashamed of herself. "Yeah, kind of. And I don't think I'll be able to find them all." 

"Eeto, round up as many as you can."

Syaoran was waiting outside for Sakura again. He had been nervously whistling the whole time and pacing (driving the other patients crazy). He was afraid something might be wrong with his girlfriend. When she stepped up of the room, he ran up to her and hugged her. "Are you okay?" 

"Yep, everything's great! They still aren't sure who the father is though." "

That's okay. You know what, Sakura-chan? I'm going to take you out for dinner tonight! To a really fancy restaurant!" 

Sakura and Syaoran went to a ritzy French restaurant that you need a reservation to get into. This was unplanned so they didn't have a reservation, but Syaoran used his family's name as a way to get in. "I didn't know you Li's were so famous," Sakura remarked. 

"You'd be surprised," Syaoran whispered in her ear.

They talked for hours and dined on the fanciest meals Sakura had ever had in her life. After they had finished desert of crème brulet, Syaoran decided the time was right to bring up a certain matter with his girlfriend. "Sakura-chan," he took a deep breath and continued. "I love you."

Sakura smiled at him, the same gentle one she saved for him since fifth grade. "I know, silly. I love you too." 

"More than that. I mean I really _love you._" Syaoran blushed, unsure of how to continue. "I…think it would be nice if…well, they can't force me to marry Mei-ling anymore…."

"Spit it out baka! What are you saying?" Sakura, dense as always. "I'm going to become the head of the Li clan next year, on my seventeenth birthday. And, I have to have a wife by then. That's not what I mean…Oh!" Syaoran slammed his hand against his head in exasperation with himself. "When you're old enough, Sakura-chan, let's get married?"

The shocked girl put her hands up to her mouth. Syaoran had totally caught her off guard. "You'll be sixteen next month, Sakura-chan. And with the baby coming…" 

"Are you proposing to me?" 

"Ah, um. Not exactly. I don't exactly have a ring or anything. I just want to say, I love you and you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Ara, but Syaoran-kun! I love you too, but…" _How can I explain it to him?_ "I'm so young to be tied down!" She winced when she saw pain flash across Syaoran's face. 

"You mean there's someone else you'd rather be with? You don't know for sure?" Sakura leaned across the table and kissed him long and passionately. It would have been a very romantic scene if Sakura's blouse hadn't dragged along in the sauce and gotten all dirty.

"Shimatta!" Sakura rubbed at it with her napkin, and Syaoran came over to her side to help. He was pressing a wet napkin against her press and Sakura mock-glared at him. "I think you're enjoying this." Syaoran blushed. Soon the two of them were laughing and fell down on the seat, flinging napkins at each other.

They were so disruptive the waiter asked them to leave. The two teenagers ambled along the moonlight beach outside the restaurant, talking. "I told you that you're the one I care about most six years ago," Syaoran said, his voice dead serious. "And I love you still today. We're destined to be together. The cherry blossom and little wolf." 

"I'll think about it," was Sakura's reply.

And as she stared into those sweet amber eyes, Sakura couldn't help thinking this was the happiest she'd been in a long time. This was a bliss drugs couldn't give her. She had gone through so much since she was a kid, changed so much, and yet here she was today. She had almost destroyed her soul, and things could be so dark and miserable. She had experienced real life. 

So if life is so horrible, if it's just a long fall, is it really worth living? And Sakura knew it was. Things just had to get better. She could climb out of this hole; the sun was already shining though. Who knows what the future might bring, but everything would be okay as long as she held on. _I'm done with this life,_ Sakura decided. _I can never be the old Sakura again. I've lost my innocence. But I can be a new person, better than before._ Sakura Kinomoto was done falling.

Eeto, I told you minna that I would re-write the entire series and I'm still not sure how pleased I am with the way it turned out. What do you think? Please go and read the sequel now. The first bit is boring but the part I'm working on now is so good! I think I deserve a long review now, ne, minna? - Luv u all, Sorano


End file.
